Navy Reservists Defend Gulf Coast in Simulated Terrorist Exercise
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS050823-01
Release Date: 8/23/2005 8:09:00 AM
By Lt. Charles Gasque and Lt. j.g. Anna Marie Janning, Space and Naval Network Warfare Program Public Affairs
PASCAGOULA, Miss. (NNS) -- U.S. Navy Reservists joined the U.S. Coast Guard, along with federal and local law enforcement agencies, Aug. 15-19 to support the Gulf Coast Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative 2005 (MDA-05) at Naval Station Pascagoula.
MDA-05 is a five-day event involving simulated terrorist threats to the Gulf Coast region and was designed to enhance homeland security.
“This area of the country has an abundance of critical maritime infrastructure,” said Cmdr. Daniel E. Crisp, commanding officer of the Navy Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS-N2) Unit 2, one of the units participating in the initiative. “We have shipyards, shipping lanes, transportation outlets, public terminals, oil refineries and of course, military facilities.”
Participating reserve units included Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Mobile Unit (MU) 12 out of Charleston, S.C., and two DCGS-N units. Unit 1 has personnel operating from Patuxent River, Md., and the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C. Unit 2 is participating at Naval Station Pascagoula.
The primary mission of Navy EOD is to disarm and render safe any explosive devices. During this initiative, the EOD team served as opposing forces to challenge existing security systems.
“We’re essentially acting as a terrorist group,” said Senior Chief Boatswain's Mate (EOD) Jim Prewitt, of EODMU 12. “We’re placing an underwater diver detection system on the coast.”
The DCGS-N team, which is responding to the threats that the EOD squad is simulating, is evaluating the Navy's latest intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting capability managed by the Navy for shared battlefield interoperations. The DCGS-N units are reviewing data to precisely identify specific targets to share with operational managers of the MDA-05 initiative.
Cmdr. Greg Heruth, the commanding officer of DCGS-N1, said this initiative is testing a new means of having cryptologists and intelligence analysts working side by side, when normally the two entities are housed at different locations.
“Our team is ecstatic. This is a tremendous teambuilding opportunity, utilizing the strengths of both ratings,” added Heruth.
Throughout this initiative, DCGS-N personnel are also working in conjunction with other members of the Space and Network Warfare Program (SNWP), which reports to Commander, Naval Network Warfare Command, located at Little Creek Amphibious Base, Norfolk, Va.
Cmdr. George Sims, of Space and Naval Warfare Center (SPAWAR) 0366 out of Naval Air Facility Washington, D.C., whose unit is a component of SNWP, said their role is to integrate information from national technical means with DCGS-N Units 1 and 2.
“Certainly the country will benefit knowing the Navy and Coast Guard will be working together to achieve and sustain maritime domain awareness,” said Sims.
Crisp added that another major focus of MDA-05 is to ensure that the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, as well as local authorities, are responding to maritime threats to the best of their abilities.
“This training opportunity will enable improved interaction and interoperability among the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and local/state/federal agencies in preparing and responding to domestic and maritime terrorist threats,” he said.
“In the post-September 11th world that we live in, the U.S. Navy is working diligently with the U.S. Coast Guard,” said Crisp. “We, along with other agencies, are trying to determine how best to work together as a team.”
According to Crisp, the results of this initiative will help operational managers better anticipate threats and take appropriate actions to deter or defeat them.
“The equipment and invaluable experience gained from this exercise can be directly placed into operation wherever and whenever needed,” he said.
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