Navy Region Northwest, Area Installations Wrap-up Exercise Citadel Shield Solid Curtain 2020

SILVERDALE, WA, UNITED STATES

02.15.2020

Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Emilia Hilliard 

Commander, Navy Region Northwest

BANGOR, Wash. — Navy Region Northwest and installations surrounding the Puget Sound completed Exercise Citadel Shield- Solid Curtain 2020, Feb. 14.
Exercise Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain 2020 (CS-SC20) is an annual, two-part anti-terrorism force protection(ATFP) exercise conducted by Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and
Commander, Navy Installations Command at all CONUS Navy installations.

“Well done to the ROC [Regional Operations Center] and N3 teams and to all the Installation COs on a successful Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain exercise,” said Commander, Navy Region Northwest Rear Adm. Scott Gray. “Your performance over the course of two weeks illustrates why Navy Region Northwest leads the enterprise in security and emergency response.”
The Navy conducts these types of security and other emergency response exercises to ensure readiness and improve coordination, communication and collaboration with other agencies during emergency situations.
"We regularly do these types of exercises to maintain our preparedness to handle a wide range of security and emergency situations,” said Naval Base Kitsap Commanding Officer Capt. Rich Rhinehart. “These training opportunities are vital to ensuring our mission readiness and our support to the fleet, our families and our Sailors."

Exercising our personnel in response to varying realistic threats enhances our personal and force-wide readiness. The exercise tests information dissemination, individual response plans, security force response, and our ability to coordinate with local emergency responders and the community.

“Here at the Emergency Operations Center, the incident management team, also exercises their ability to pull our resources together and respond in the different phases of a situation,” said Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Commanding Officer Capt. Matt Arny. “So, there’s really training that happens at every level in this exercise, from the individual responder all the way up to the entire command and control network.”
Each base interacted and learned lessons on interagency communication while working alongside Federal, State, and their respective local Law Enforcement and Fire agencies. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Washington State Patrol, Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), and local police and fire departments brought different assets to complete a shared goal.

“Working with our Federal and local counterparts provides valuable training for Naval Security Forces in preventing and confronting active threats,” said Naval Base Kitsap Installation and Training Officer Mark Witherell. “Additionally, the exercise allows for validation of in-place agreements, processes and procedures.”
The large-scale exercise conducted by CNRNW personnel at all bases covered a wide range of well-constructed and complex scenarios including small boat and water borne improvised explosive device attack, improvised explosive device attack, suspicious packages, small boat waterborne surveillance and different active shooter drills.
“It's also good to go through the motions because it doesn’t matter how good your plan looks on paper,” said Naval Magazine Indian Island Commanding Officer Cmdr. Don Emerson. “You will learn more about your capabilities when you actually execute that plan and hopefully learn and improve the plan for the next round or to respond to a real world incident."

Since 2008, Citadel Shield- Solid Curtain is an ever evolving training event designed to ensure Navy personnel are at peak readiness to deter and respond to potential security threats. Therefore ensuring the safety and security of our personnel, equipment, installations and our surrounding communities we continue to be a good neighbor.

“The base is part of the community, and the community is part of the base,” said Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Executive Officer Timothy A. Oswalt. “Many people who work here, live out in town, our children attend the schools, our spouses are a part of the community and we are part of the Whidbey Island family.”

• Date Taken: 02.15.2020
• Date Posted: 02.16.2020 20:14
• Story ID: 363278
• Location: SILVERDALE, WA, US