Naval Air Station Kingsville recently passed a Regional Assessment (RASS) of security and emergency services - the first such RASS conducted in the Continental United States.

Lt. Michael Ellis, NASK security officer, said the RASS, combined with other evaluations, brings shore installations an inspection schedule that is similar to what is done on ships, preparing a base for periodic certification of its security and emergency responses.

"I'm a big fan of it," Ellis said. "I think it's long overdue."

The RASS included force protection drills including apparent surveillance of a base gate, a suspected vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, an alarm response, an active shooter and a suspicious package.

Ellis said, based on more than 130 pages of check sheets, NASK security scored 91 percent.

"That's pretty much knocking it out of the park."

Some of the drills also evaluated emergency response by fire and medical personnel and emergency management.

David Yeager, the base emergency manager, said the active shooter drill was extra challenging because of real-world problems including a power failure which interfered with computer and phone connections at the emergency scene.

"You can't script this stuff," Yeager said. "Anytime you get to do training, it's valuable. In any crisis, a lot of things are expected to go wrong. This gives you the chance to find the potential problems and correct them, so when the real thing happens, you're ready."

Another challenge was some of the main individuals normally in the emergency operations center, when activated, were also working as part of the training team, leaving the EOC understaffed.

Yeager said the available EOC personnel took on the challenge, jumped in and made it work.

"In the end, we would have been successful had this been real," he said.

The new inspection system starts with a Command Assessment for Readiness and Training (CART), an inspection that does not have a pass/fail rating, but is intended to advise a base where it can improve and chart a path forward through a command improvement plan.

Conducted about a year later, the RASS is intended to see how well the base has done with the improvement plan and determine if it can be scheduled for a FEP, or Final Evaluation Problem, said Randy Foust, NAS Kingsville's installation mission readiness officer.

"The basic idea is that security gets looked at every year by some level of command," said Foust.

The FEP is like a final exam, an inspection conducted by Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC), and U.S. Fleet Forces Command.

The CART gives an installation a snapshot of where they are and how they can improve, Ellis said. Then the RASS gives CNIC and the installation an evaluation of how well they have improved from the CART - and if they are ready to face a FEP and certification of the security force.

NAS Kingsville is scheduled for a FEP in August. If it passes, the base security force will be certified for 18 months.

"We were the first in CONUS to go through the process," Ellis said. "I'm sure it will be modified as it progresses and there will be differences from installation to installation. But the basic idea is to standardize most procedures and practices. Any master-at-arms should be able to go to any base and know all the basics; all they should have to learn is specific local conditions. In the long run, I think we're going to see installations have a much better security force and better emergency response."

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