George Washington's Security Force Trains for Certification

YOKOSUKA, Japan (NNS) -- The U.S. Navy's forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington's (CVN 73) security department conducted Anti-Terrorism Force Protection (ATFP) Phase II certification, April 15-18.

ATFP Phase II is part of a four-phase assessment conducted every 18 months of an Anti-Terrorism Training Team's (ATTT) ability to safely and competently train security forces.

"The purpose of ATTT is to train our security forces to protect the ship and its personnel against any terrorist acts and insider threats," said Lt. Cmdr. Pablito Quiatchon, George Washington's security officer. "While in port, our security force consists of Naval Security Forces (NSF) and Internal Security Forces (ISF)."

Sailors require constant ATFP training because George Washington's security department encompasses not only Master-at-Arms, but Sailors from the ship's many work centers.

"We perform a multitude of drills to train our entire security force and to keep our Sailors from becoming complacent," said Master-at-Arms 1st Class Jeffrey Harris, ATTT coordinator. "We conduct many exercises, including hostage scenarios, alarm response, surveillance, swimmer attacks, riot control, suspicious package, entry control point penetration and much more."
ATFP drills prepare Sailors to effectively work together to respond to any possible threat.

"One of the benefits of ATFP drills is to strengthen the cohesion within the team, which makes us more effective," said Harris. "Training is essential to maintain proficiency, increase watch standing knowledge, stay vigilant, take charge and notice and respond to suspicious activities."

Training also assists Sailors to gain knowledge and confidence of their roles in a security force.

"I believe that these exercises are important to teach us how to do our job," said Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Michael Dot, from Syracuse, N.Y. "We have many highly-motivated Sailors who protect the ship and its crew."
Sailors utilize this quality training to effectively deal with any possible contingency.

"There will always be challenges during any evolution, but that is why we train so hard," said Harris.

George Washington and its embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, provide a combat-ready force that protects and defends the collective maritime interest of the U.S. and its allies and partners in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.



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