Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola completed its annual security exercise, Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield (SC-CS).

SC-CS is a force protection training evolution that was conducted by Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command (COMUSFLTFORCOM) and Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) onboard all continental United States naval installations from Jan. 29 through Feb. 9.

The drill consisted of three different incidents designed to measure various responses from both the base's security team as well as fire and emergency personnel. This year's SC-CS featured an active-shooter scenario, which took place at Bldg. 1811, an administrative building onboard the base.

NAS Pensacola Installation Mission Readiness Officer, Trent Hathaway, was in charge of the evolution. While the drill only lasted a few hours, the work-up to the event was much longer.

"This took months of preparation," Hathaway said. "It starts with an initial working group and the installation training team and then we receive our requirements from region and the CNIC for the exercise and combine those with our own background experiences to create a plan of action."

The exercise began with the "perpetrator", portrayed by Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Michael Vandergriff, approaching Building 1811 and voicing discontent with the government shutdown, which was causing his inability to pay bills. He proceeded to take a female employee, played by Jenna Vaughn of NAS Pensacola Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC) hostage and "attacked" her with a training knife before proceeding inside the building.

Once the "assailant" entered, he grabbed an M16 rifle loaded with blank ammunition rounds and began firing. Ultimately he "injured" another victim, portrayed by Operations Specialist 2nd Class Antonio Steiner, and "killed" a training mannequin that was supposed to represent his work supervisor inside of a classroom.

Naval Security Forces (NSF) tracking the gunman eventually located the attacker and a firefight ensued leaving him dead as well. Anti-Terrorism Training Team (ATTT) officials were tasked with evaluating NSF police officer's work. They carried clipboards and made notes on what actions the officer's correctly performed while also recording aspects of the training that needed to be reviewed.

Fire and emergency services personnel arrived on-scene and rendered aid to the first two victims before proceeding inside the classroom. Once there, they determined that the shooter and his work supervisor were indeed "casualties", bringing the final body count to three deceased and one injured.

Training concluded with a suspicious package placed inside of the classroom where the gunman and his final victim were positioned. NAS Pensacola Police Officer Daniel Dugger was tasked with locating the threat and utilizing proper protocol to notify the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) squad. Outside of the building, the Military Working Dog (MWD) team patrolled the perimeter ensuring that there were no other bomb threats.

NAS Pensacola Police Training Officer, Capt. Jeffrey Glassey, felt the event went well and believes that this training is critical to the mission of the base security forces. Base police officers take part in more than 100 trainings a year, but each drill offers a unique opportunity and prepares the individuals further in case an incident occurs.

"You'll find out that there will be times in various exercises that these guys get everything right and then the next time one thing will trip it up," Glassey said. "That's why we do it - that's why we train. So that if in fact, something does happen during training, we can fix it and ensure our officers are ready to go and make the decisions they're supposed to make and do what they are supposed to do if a real situation occurs."

Upon conclusion of the exercise, after-action meetings took place to determine what went right and how those who participated in the training can improve. This way, exercises can be tailored to address these issues in both the near future and next year when Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield returns to NAS Pensacola.

NAS Pensacola, situated in Escambia County, employs more than 16,000 military and 7,400 civilian personnel. This includes major tenant commands, Naval Aviation Schools Command, Naval Air Technical Training Center, Marine Aviation Training Support Groups 21 and 23, the Blue Angels, and the headquarters for Naval Education and Training Command.

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