For the Navy, security and force protection are major factors when keeping Sailors, assets and the installation safe.

As a part of Commander, Navy Installations Command's (CNIC) mission to deliver effective and efficient readiness from the shore, CNIC partnered with the Physical Security Enterprise & Analysis Group (PSEAG) and Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to conduct exercise Citadel Protect Technology Demonstration (CPTD), an anti-terrorism/force protection (AT/FP) exercise and technology demonstration, at Naval Base San Diego Sept. 11-15.

The exercise and technology demonstration were part of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Navy Warfare Development Command Fleet Experimentation Program. CPTD demonstrated an integrated set of candidate technologies selected to address identified AT/FP capability gaps and assisted in the initial evaluation of these new security technologies and concepts.

"We are committed to training and conducting exercises throughout the year to identify and mitigate or resolve any issues in our current force protection structure," said Bill Clark, CNIC's exercise program director. "This exercise is one of the methods that we use to take a holistic approach to assess AT/FP program readiness and provide realistic training to our Sailors."

Citadel Protect is a shore/afloat tactical training event designed to assess the Navy's ability to protect ships against various threats in Navy ports. The objective of the exercise is to identify any gaps or seams in our force protection at home and overseas.

The five-day exercise presented Sailors with several different scenarios that required quick and effective responses. CPTD was conducted to integrate existing waterside security systems and equipment such as the electronic harbor security system, command and control, Harbor Security boats and Port Security barriers with new technologies and to assess the effectiveness of each technology.

"In our exercises, we strive to create a training environment that mirrors the operational environment," said Clark. "This exercise and technology demonstration incorporated the sights and sounds of actual waterborne improvised explosive devices and blank ammunition fire as part of the simulated attacks to enable our Sailors to demonstrate and validate pre-planned responses, tactics, techniques and procedures in a high-stress, realistic environment."

The San Diego-based ship the USS Milius (DDG 69) participated in this year's exercise. The exercise provided an opportunity to conduct integrated shore/afloat training and to validate their directed in-port security plan and integrated pre-planned responses in order to collectively respond to multiple AT/FP scenarios within Naval Base San Diego's battle space.

Navy Installations Command is comprised of approximately 53,000 military and civilian personnel worldwide responsible for the operations, maintenance and quality of life programs to sustain the Navy's fleet, enable the fighter, and support the family.

For more news from Commander, Navy Installations Command, visit http://www.navy.mil/.