Naval Support Activity Washington's police officers position themselves to clear a building during a planned exercise that Naval Support Activity Washington's Installation Training Team executed on the Washington Navy Yard, Sept 2. The integrated drill trained NSF and other elements of NSAW to respond to a telephonic bomb threat. (U.S. Navy photo by Shejal Pulivarti/released)By Shejal Pulivarti, Naval Support Activity Washington Public Affairs
WASHINGTON, DC – Naval Support Activity Washington conducted a training exercise on the Washington Navy Yard, Sept. 2.
The quick-reaction, scenario-driven exercise evaluated the Installation Naval Security Force, Command Staff, Fire Emergency Services, Emergency Management, and Public Works in their response to the notional telephonic bomb threat onboard the WNY, culminating in the integrated training.
Once the role player called in the bomb threat, the NSF immediately responded and conducted their initial assessment. After determining the threat to be valid, an Incident Command Post was established and NSAW’s Emergency Operations Center was activated.
“Security is our number one job, and training is how we learn and apply the lessons,” said Lt. Cmdr. John Liddle, executive officer for NSAW.
NSAW routinely conducts training exercises in order to maintain a high performance level. This drill, however, was the first in the recent months that involved the various sections.
“Conducting realistic drills like this is what enables us to improve our processes and ensure our efficiency,” said Liddle.
During the exercise, personnel completed the steps they would be responsible for if this was a real-world scenario. Tasks varied from accounting for all assigned personnel to establishing a perimeter and calling in explosive ordnance disposal to neutralize the threat. The training allowed Command Staff to outline what resources would be necessary in order to respond to the situation.
“I think training like this is really important. It showed us the scope of what needs to be done if this were a real incident,” said Lt. Luke Adams, port operations officer in charge.
NSAW will undergo Command Assessment for Readiness and Training Sept. 19-23. CART is a Commander, Navy Installation Command program that evaluates installations on their response capabilities and ability to train their personnel to standard in various realistic scenarios.
