Personnel assigned to Naval Station Rota, Spain and Sailors assigned to the guided-missile destroyers USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) and USS Porter (DDG 78) conducted and completed their third annual major integrated fire drill onboard the Cook Aug. 29, 2018.

“This whole exercise is called the Chapter 13 drill. It’s a fully integrated fire drill of a major fire onboard a U.S. vessel where we not only use ship’s force personnel and equipment but also the base fire fighters on base and as well as USS Porter Sailors,” said Lt. j.g. Justin Makin, USS Cook damage control assistant. “As we’ve seen in the past one of the biggest problems was not having the training or not being used to having to work with circumstances that might not be your usual status as if you were underway. So doing a drill like this really made our guys, as well as the leadership, think about what we need to do with the help from outside sources.”

Shipboard and installation firefighters were able to train with each other to learn when and how to communicate for a successful mission. Yearly integrated training increases response effectiveness when a ship is in-port and in critical status.

The major players involved for this drill were Forward Deployed Regional Maintenance Center (FDRMC), USS Donald Cook, USS Porter, the Installation Training Team (ITT), U.S. Naval Hospital Rota, Fire and Emergency Services (F&ES), Emergency Operations Center (EOC), Dispatch, Security, and Environmental department.

“We expect to see enthusiasm, professionalism and level of knowledge when we run these drills,” said Lt. Jerrit Fuller, Naval Station Rota installation training coordinator. “As you draw more entities into a drill the complexity increases and, what may be a simple drill as a single unit, becomes extremely difficult. Working through the difficulties, embracing the changes and increasing knowledge across the board as a subject matter experts is all we expect. At the end of it all we walk away smarter to the problem and have the knowledge of our short falls and areas of improvement.”

Naval Station Rota enables and supports operations of U.S. and allied forces and provides quality services in support of the fleet, fighter, and family for Commander, Navy Installations Command in Navy Region EURAFSWA.

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