base\u2019s Giant Voice mass notification<\/a> loudspeaker system can typically be heard more than a mile away.<\/p>\nThe training also comes amid heightened security around all U.S. military bases ordered by U.S. Northern Command in early March after the United States and Israel launched combat operations against Iran.<\/p>\n
The extra measures include random vehicle inspections and identification checks of 100% of the people entering installations. It also halted the ability of the Defense Department\u2019s civilian employees, service members, and their dependents to escort people onto installations in their vehicles without a background check.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur installation is at a higher security level than it might be normally,\u201d said Gregg Smith, base spokesperson, not offering specifics on what that could be. \u201cWe\u2019re changing the way we do business, and we\u2019re constantly aware of potential threats and doing everything we can to ensure that the base and our personnel and the surrounding community are safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith said the base routinely trains security personnel on boats and the folks that guard the installation on the land side.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re training on a weekly, if not daily basis,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we let the community know about it, it\u2019s because we\u2019re doing something specific that they can see and hear from outside the fence line. We want to let them know when there\u2019s something going on that might cause concern.\u201d<\/p>\n
Training this week and later this month includes tactical drills in the field focusing on incidents such as an active shooter, attempts to penetrate base entry points, and defending against small-boat attacks and drones. Navy personnel will work on the base\u2019s command, control and communications capabilities and the emergency operations center. They will also drill on how to best bring the base back to full operation following a security incident. In addition to the base\u2019s security personnel, sailors and the base\u2019s fire department staff will participate, Smith said.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, boat security personnel will fire machine guns using blanks, which are pretty loud, Smith said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to make sure the community is aware this is just regular training, and they shouldn\u2019t be concerned,\u201d he said, adding that the training in the bay includes exercises to protect Navy ships docked there, such as the USS Stockdale, a guided missile destroyer currently in port, conducting munitions transfer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re training to protect Anaheim Bay and any Navy ships docked in the bay from potential terrorist attacks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The weapons station, one of several installations in the region, including a base in Fallbrook and Norco, supports the Navy\u2019s Pacific fleet. The 5,000-acre base is responsible for weapons storage, loading and maintenance.<\/p>\n
The Seal Beach base serves an average of 40 Navy ships a year. Ships typically stay at the base an average of three days, loading and unloading munitions.\u00a0 Most of the ships serviced at the base have San Diego as their home port.<\/p>\n
Later this month, on April 14 and on April 28, Smith said security teams will drill on landside security measures and that\u2019s when the nearby community might see even more activity on the base.<\/p>\n
\u201cFolks outside the fence line and the public might see temporary gate closures, roll player activities, and hear the loudspeaker system that can play alarms or voice announcements about things that are happening on the base,\u201d he said. \u201cOur on-base fire department will practice lifesaving techniques, and at the same time, our emergency operations center can also be activated, and we can practice emergency operations at those facilities as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith said the exercises have been in the planning stages for several months and are not a direct result of, or influenced by, the world situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are standard drills we\u2019re doing to ensure our security forces are ready for anything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Traffic on civilian roads and the Anaheim Bay public boat channel<\/a> are not expected to be impacted, he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Security boats are on patrol this week in Anaheim Bay, running exercises to defend the Naval Weapons Station…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258527,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,179,23,131,133,132,1703,611,29597,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-258526","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-community","10":"tag-local-news","11":"tag-long-beach","12":"tag-long-beach-headlines","13":"tag-long-beach-news","14":"tag-military","15":"tag-orange-county","16":"tag-seal-beach","17":"tag-top-stories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}