HURREX/Citadel Gale 2011 Tests Readiness, Prepares Fleet

From Naval Air Station Key West Public Affairs

KEY WEST, Fla. (NNS) -- Naval Air Station Key West began its participation in Hurricane Exercise (HURREX)/Citadel Gale 2011 April 25, in an effort to ensure installation readiness in the event of a hurricane.

The annual U.S. Fleet Forces and Commander, Navy Installation Command exercise helps prepare commands for the Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1 and ends Nov. 30. It prepares the Navy to respond to extreme weather threats to U.S. coastal regions, and to maintain the ability to deploy forces even under the most adverse weather conditions.

This year's exercise involves two simulated storm systems developing and intensifying to hurricane strength, threatening the Caribbean Islands, and the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast regions.

All Navy commands in those regions, ashore and afloat, in port and underway, participate by reviewing and exercising heavy weather instructions and procedures and accounted for Sailors and Navy families in the affected regions through the Navy Family Accountability and Assessment System (NFAAS).

Naval Air Station Key West Emergency Manager Steve McBride said that while Key West was spared a direct hit from a hurricane during the exercise, it took the opportunity to to exercise its local sheltering plans.

"Depending on the intensity and track of a hurricane, the commanding officer can order low-lying Navy housing areas to local shelters," McBride said. "We've made some changes to the sheltering procedures and we got to exercise those procedures during this year's HURREX/Citadel Gale."

McBride said the main change to their local sheltering plans, is how they determine who is sheltered where.

"In the past, each command and department had their own assignment, now it's based on their residence in Navy housing," he said. "Knowing where to shelter is a key component of preparations, so we are trying to get word out to all the residents in housing what the procedures are."

For base personnel that don't live in housing, local shelters can be found at Key West High School and Sugarloaf School, or if a shelter on base is needed, McBride can assist in assigning one. He can be reached at 293-2001 or 797-1210.

NAS Key West Instruction 3440.1B, the Tropical Cyclone and Destructive Weather Plan, provides all the necessary instructions to base personnel in the event of a hurricane. Information can also be found at NAS' website, www.cnic.navy.mil/keywest, and in the annual hurricane issue of the "Southernmost Flyer," on stands June 3.

With hurricane season just around the corner, NAS Key West Executive Officer Cmdr. Michael Giardino stressed that not only should the base be prepared, families must have a plan as well.

"It is a priority to ensure our families are informed of the resources available to them and have a plan in the event of a disaster," said Giardino. "The Navy uses the NFAAS to account for Sailors and Navy families, as well as to identify disaster-related needs of Navy families. Sailors and their families should ensure their information is up to date in NFAAS, if they haven't already."