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| Press Release |
Date: March 14, 2007
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Coast Guard, DOD Practice Savannah Security ****IMPORTANT NOTE: Members of the media will have the opportunity to view the exercise offshore from the deck of the Coast Guard Cutter Elm. Members of the media will be asked to meet at Coast Guard Station Tybee Island, Ga., at 5:30 a.m. to get underway on the Coast Guard Cutter Tarpon. The Tarpon will rendezvous with the Elm five-miles offshore. Media will transfer to the Elm at 6:30 a.m. before the exercise begins. Members of the media will then be transported back to Station Tybee by the Tarpon by 10 a.m. Interviews will be available along with exciting photo and video opportunities of high-tempo operation. Members of the media interested in attending MUST contact Donnie Brzuska with Coast Guard Public Affairs at 904-564-7623 or 305-315-1864 to reserve a seat. The Tarpon will leave promptly at 5:30 a.m. Those who are late will be left behind.**** SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Coast Guard, the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard are conducting a joint homeland security exercise at the mouth of the Savannah River Thursday at 7:30 a.m. The Coast Guard and a joint Air National Guard and Army National Guard team will exercise their ability to respond to radioactive material detected aboard a commercial ship attempting to access the port of Savannah. A Coast Guard boarding team from Marine Safety Unit Savannah will be lowered from a helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Savannah to the deck of the Coast Guard Cutter Elm from Atlantic Beach, N.C., which will be playing the role of the commercial ship. The Coast Guard boarding officers will detect radiation aboard the vessel using radiation detection equipment. The Coast Guard will call upon the services of the Georgia National Guard 4th Civil Support Team (WMD) stationed at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Ga. The Coast Guard helicopters will pick up members of the 4th CST from Air Station Savannah and transport them to the Cutter Elm. While aboard the Cutter Elm, the 4th CST will simulate identifying any suspect agents, substances or isotopes. Then advise the Coast Guard on response measures and assist in assessing current and projected consequences. This exercise is aimed at building on the interoperability of the Coast Guard and the 4th CST and improving both agencies response capabilities to maritime chemical, biological or radiological threats to Georgia ports. ###
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