NWS Seal Beach Installs New Force Protection Measure
Navy Newsstand
Story Number: NNS040213-03
Release Date: 2/17/2004 9:46:00 AM
By Journalist 2nd Class Brian Brannon, Naval Media Center San Diego Fleet Support Det. 119
NAVAL WEAPONS STATION SEAL BEACH, Calif. (NNS) -- As part of an ongoing program to protect U.S. Navy ships from terrorist attacks, Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach (NWSSB) began installation of a new barrier system in Anaheim Bay in mid-January.
The 1,200-foot buoy-based barrier line defines the small craft channel civilian boaters are authorized to use while entering and exiting Huntington Harbour. Previously, the limits of the channel were not as plainly delineated.
"The new buoy system is more or less designed to show a clear boundary," said Boatswain's Mate 1st Class (SW) James Sanders, a Sailor assigned to the station's security force.
The barriers are an added component of the force protection measures already in place to thwart small craft attacks of the type that damaged USS Cole (DDG 67) in the port of Aden, Yemen, in October 2000. Both visible and invisible, these measures exist to prevent or detect unauthorized intrusion onto weapons station property.
The barrier system serves as an unmistakable signal to security personnel when a boat has entered the restricted area of the bay.
Large orange and white buoys along the barrier warn of the potential consequences of crossing the line: "Warning: U.S. Navy restricted area. Keep out: Use of force authorized."
An average of 80 warships onload and offload missiles and munitions from the weapons station each year.
Though Anaheim Bay is the only outlet to the Pacific Ocean from Huntington Harbour, it is under the jurisdiction of the weapons station, and access may be restricted when threat conditions are high.
NWSSB Commanding Officer Capt. Robert Mirick reminded civilian boaters that they must continue to abide by all regulations previously in place at Anaheim Bay.
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