Pax River prepares for Citadel Curtain 2023

ByChiefPettyOfficerPatrickGordon

Naval Air Station Patuxent River

Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain (CSSC), the Navy’s annual anti-terrorism, force protection (ATFP) exercise, will be underway Navywide and at NAS Patuxent River Feb.6-17,2023

Conducted by U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), Commander U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Commander, Navy InstallationsCommand(CNIC),CSSCuses realistic drills and scenarios to enhance the readiness of Navy security forces and ensure seamless interoperability among the commands, other services, and agency partners

“The exercise which plays out over a two-week period, tests our Emergency Training Plan and pre-planned responses (PPR),andit’sacontinuationoftrainingfor our security forces,” explained Matt Nalley, Pax River’s installation training officer “It allows us to evaluate whether we have the correct procedures in place in the event of an emergency situation; and any drills involving an integrated response will show howwelldepartmentssuchassecurity fire, emergency management and public works communicateandworkwitheachother.”

Week one’s Citadel Shield focuses on installation-level training, and all scenarios will occur entirely within the Pax River fence line. In the past, those scenarios have included active shooter, hostage situation, gate runner, unmanned aerial surveillance, massshooting protestersatthegate suspicious package, and release of a biological weapon,amongothers

In addition to hearing sirens or seeing emergency vehicles on the road responding to drills in progress, Pax personnel can expect to receive advance emergency response notifications multiple times over a number of days and might, at times, be inconvenienced

“We do our best to minimize disruption, butpersonnelmightexperiencegatedelays or temporary changes in traffic or parking patternsasthedifferentscenariosplayout, Nalleynoted.

The Solid Curtain portion, occurring during the second week, is a national-level exercisecenteredoncommand,control,and communicationsbetweenallechelonsNavy widewhereeverythingthathappensatone installation affects every other installation, evenifonlyinaminorway.

For instance, if leadership NORTHCOM,U.S.FleetForcesCommand,orCNIC seestrendsorincidentsgoingoninoneor more areas that they feel may also impact a differentarea,theycanselectivelyputinstallations, regions or the entire NORTHCOM areaofresponsibilityintoaheightenedforce protectioncondition.

“Thatmightagainpromptfurtherdelays closures, and emergency notifications at Pax, Nalley said “We ask people for their patience and remind them that the ultimate purpose of these training exercises is to ensure the protection of those who work andliveonboardtheinstallation.”

NAS Patuxent River leadership is especially aware of base impacts after last year’s CS/SCexercise.

“While there were inconveniences, we learned some valuable lessons during last year’sexercise,particularlyabouttrafficflow offbaseinanemergency,”addedNalley “We arecommittedtothephilosophyof‘trainlike youfight,’sowe’llbeexercisingthatscenario again with additional information regarding base evacuation zones to ease the flow oftrafficoffbase.

With any increase in FPCON, gates will closetoprotectthebaseandouroccupants IfPaxelevatestheFPCONduringtheworkday, the base intends to conduct an ordered departure,offeringtheworkforceanopportunity to evacuate in an orderly fashion. WhilePaxRivercanutilizea“trainingtime out” to pause the scenario locally for emergenciesandunforeseencircumstances-real world events will not afford that opportunity. Personnel on base during these exercises are asked to be prepared for major delaysasaprecaution.

“We want to be as upfront as possible to our mission partners and residents; anticipate the intersection of Taxiway Alpha and CedarPointroadwillbeclosedatsomepoint during the second week of the exercise theweekofFeb.13 asdrivenbyU.S.Fleet Forces’directiontoelevatetheForceProtection Condition to Charlie Telework during these days is highly encouraged to avoid major traffic issues,” said NAS Patuxent River Commanding Officer Capt Derrick Kingsley.

Personnel are also encouraged to check notifications posted on the NAS Facebook page at www.facebook.com/NASPaxRiver andTwitter@NASPaxRiverPAO