Navy Prepares for Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain 2019 Feb. 4-15

WASHINGTON (January 24, 2019)—Naval installations in the National Capital Region [including NAS Patuxent River] are preparing to participate in exercise Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain 2019 (CS/SC 19), which is scheduled to take place Feb. 4-15.

CS/SC is a two-week anti-terrorism and force protection (ATFP) exercise conducted by Commander, Navy Installations Command and Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command on all Navy installations in the continental United States.

"Safeguarding our assets allows the Navy to continue to operate in defense of our national interests, and CS/SC allows us to provide scenarios to do just that," said Matthew Brown, Naval District Washington (NDW) training and exercise director.

"The Navy incorporates highly-realistic training scenarios into these drills, but is committed to keeping the public informed about any potential impacts of the exercise so we don't generate undue concern about the scenario threats."

CS/SC will assess fleet and installation ATFP programs throughout the U.S. Northern Command area of responsibility. It is designed to enhance training and readiness of Navy security personnel.

"You never have enough time to train," said Timothy Stoessel, NDW exercise analyst. "You always have commitments that take away from your training time. This is five days straight, Monday through Friday, that are set aside for a major exercise. For all installations and the region, those first five days will be focused on ATFP training."

Personnel looking to get on and off base during CS/SC may face delays due to CS/SC. Each installation is looking to mitigate traffic congestion and normalize base operations during the exercise.

"Measures have been taken to minimize disruptions within local communities and on base, but there may be times when the exercise causes increased traffic around bases, delays in base access or limited, temporary road closures," said Brown. "Area and base residents may also see or hear first responders, security activities, vehicle barriers and emergency vehicles associated with the exercise."

For real-time updates on Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain 2019, visit www.facebook.com/NavDistWash.