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Naval Station Mayport Conducts Exercise Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield 2010

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100329-02
Release Date: 3/29/2010 12:02:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Leah Stiles, Navy Public Affairs Support Element East Det. Southeast

MAYPORT, Fla. (NNS) -- Naval Station (NAVSTA) Mayport participated in exercise Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield 2010 (SC/CS 2010), an annual security training exercise coordinated by U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFF), in Mayport, Fla., March 22-26.

The week-long security exercise is the largest anti-terrorism/force protection (AT/FP) exercise conducted by Navy installations and activities in the continental United States.

One portion of the exercise consisted of a simulated intrusion of a small boat in the Mayport, Fla., basin. That small boat later collided with a fictitious Navy ship, causing an explosion. Teams of Sailors throughout the base stepped up by using pre-planned responses, such as computer network alert system messages distributed to office computers; using the "giant voice system," an outdoor intercom to alert people base-wide of a potential threat; and increasing the base's force protection condition.

"This exercise was an excellent avenue to hone our force protection skills with real-world scenarios and hands on training from numerous emergency responders throughout Naval Station Mayport and the city of Jacksonville," said Steve Millican, Naval Station Mayport's installation emergency management officer.

The simulations and exercises are designed to train responders to react to a real world threat.

"Instead of having numerous smaller exercises, Solid Curtain/Citadel Shield is a single, large, integrated exercise that accurately emulates what may happen in a real world attack," said Capt. Sam A. McCormick, USFF director for fleet anti-terrorism.

SC/CS 2010 consisted of more than 250 individual training events across the country.

"I am extremely proud of how our teams responded," said Capt. Aaron Bowman, NAVSTA Mayport's commanding officer. "The key to this is preparation, and this training prepares us by finding areas we need improvement in and giving us the chance to fine-tune and be ready. Our Sailors train every day and are always ready for real life scenarios. I expect the best and they have exceeded my expectations."