Northwest Navy bases wrap-up annual earthquake exercise

By Navy Region Northwest Public Affairs

Northwest Navy installations wrapped-up their annual earthquake response and recovery training exercise known as Citadel Rumble today.

From Aug. 5 to 9, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Naval Base Kitsap, Naval Station Everett and Naval Magazine Indian Island personnel as well as tenant commands participated in various all-hazards response and recovery activities following simulated earthquakes and aftershocks in Western Washington.

Firefighters from Station 71 on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island help a firefighter escape a simulated under ground entrapment during an “aftershock” as part of Exercise Citadel Rumble August 5. Firefighters on NAS Whidbey Island responded to a simulated fire and a trapped worker. After extricating the trapped worker a simulated aftershock trapped four firefighters that then had to be rescued. (U.S. Navy photo by Thomas Mills)

The training exercise was designed to improve Sailors’, civilians’ and Navy families’ knowledge of emergency response plans as well as enhance their ability to react quickly and effectively to a natural disaster situation that presented multiple types of hazards.

Navy personnel practiced responding to the simulated resulting damage and other hazards, which included simulated damage to facilities and roads, loss of utilities, fires and other collapsed structures from which people needed to be rescued, and providing basic necessities and medical care to Navy personnel in need.

“I want to thank everyone who participated in Citadel Rumble this week because I know how difficult it can be to step away from your regular job and put that on hold while you focus your energy on supporting an exercise,” said Navy Region Northwest Operations Director Mike Nortier. “As time consuming as they may be, exercises like this play a crucial role in ensuring we maintain our skills and improve our ability to respond to various types of disasters. And each of the Navy responders play an important role in the Navy’s overall response effort so their participation greatly enhances the effectiveness of the exercise.”

Force Tolar, emergency management planner at Navy Region Northwest, explained that conducting regular exercises help us to continually strengthen our plans and processes.

“Exercises help us to validate our capabilities and identify any gaps in our plans so we can correct or improve them,” he said, adding that emergency preparedness is also something that is important for individuals and families.

Navy personnel regularly conduct exercises to practice responding to a number of potential emergency situations ranging from security-related incidents to natural disasters such as earthquakes.

For more information on emergency preparedness and how you can better prepare yourself for disasters, please visit https://www.ready.gov/ or https://www.ready.navy.mil/.

Members of the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Emergency Operations Center (EOC) work through the recovery operations after a simulated major earthquake and subsequent aftershocks during Citadel Rumble 2019. Citadel Rumble is an annual exercise helps maintain and improve installation support and recovery efforts before, during, and after a major all-hazards event. During this exercise the NAS Whidbey Island EOC was purposely understaffed to simulate the difficulty in traveling after a major earthquake. As well, communications were cut off, except through satellite communications, so the EOC staff had to face the difficulties of an isolated environment.

Mercy Fuller, Family Housing, staffs the Emergency Family Assistance Center (EFAC), while Sailors simulate displaced family members during Exercise Citadel Rumble August 5. Fleet and Family Services set up the EFAC in order to test the systems for processing family members in need in an environment where Whidbey Island has been isolated by a major earthquake. This training was designed to improve the knowledge as well as the ability to react for Navy personnel and their families, and also keeps the local community informed. Citadel Rumble is an annual exercise helps maintain and improve installation support and recovery efforts before, during, and after a major all-hazards event. Citadel Rumble will continue through the week of August 5 thru 9.