March 28, 2024

Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain at Pax Feb. 3-14

Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain

Naval Air Station Patuxent River and other naval installations in the National Capital Region are preparing for the annual anti-terrorism force protection exercise — Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain 2020 — that will be conducted Feb. 3 through 14.

Other installations include Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Naval Support Activity Washington, Naval Support Activity South Potomac, Naval Support Activity Annapolis, and Naval Support Activity Bethesda.

Exercise Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain 2020 will be conducted by commander of the US Fleet Forces Command and Commander, Navy Installations Command on all Navy installations in the continental US.

The exercise is designed to enhance the readiness of Navy security forces and ensure seamless interoperability among the commands, other services, and agency partners.

“Now that we have completed the annual training and inspection of the Navy security forces, we try to use Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain as a continuation of our training for our ATFP security forces,” said Tim Stoessel, Naval District Washington exercise analyst. “We usually either do an active shooter or active attacker scenario.”

Real-world events like the shootings at Naval Air Station Pensacola and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard highlight the importance of exercises like CS/SC.

“One of the things we’re looking at is the possibility of internal threats,” said Matthew Brown, NDW training and exercise director. “I think we’ve done a really good job of protecting our fence lines, but unfortunately, some of the incidents that have occurred recently have taken place inside the fence lines. We’re taking a new look at that, how to prevent those incidents from occurring and how to react to them if they do.”

Measures have been taken to minimize disruptions within local communities and to normal base operations, but there may be times when the exercise causes increased traffic around bases or delays in base access. Area residents may also see or hear security activities associated with the exercise. Advanced coordination has taken place with local law enforcement and first responders.

Area residents may also see or hear security activities associated with the exercise.

For information about potential impacts due to the exercise, check out Naval District Washington Public Affairs on social media.

 

To learn more about Lexington Park, visit the St. Mary’s County Community Development Corporation’s Leader member page.

St. Mary’s County Community Development Corporation

46940 South Shangri-La Drive, Suite 7

Lexington Park, MD 20653

301-863-7700

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