Photo By Sgt. Corey Dabney | Chief Warrant Officer Jason Dempsey, the officer in charge of Support Squadron 372’s...... read more read more
ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. - Once a year, Urban Shield—one of the most highly anticipated police events in the nation—takes place in Alameda County, California. Urban Shield is a four-day event that brings together local, regional and federal law enforcement agencies to include U.S. military service members as well as detachments from allied nations to share tactics and best practices in crisis response.
Urban Shield 2014 took place in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. The event started with two days of a merchant showcase where the latest in policing and surveillance technology were displayed.
After the merchant showcase was over the real fun began, said Sgt. Jonathan Gleeson, a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear defense specialist with 1st Marine Division.
The Marine and law enforcement agencies competed against one another for bragging rights and trophies over the following two days.
Counter-insurgency exercises as well as multiple emergency-preparedness training exercises took place throughout the Bay Area, where the participating agencies were allowed to showcase their expertise.
“A total of 59 different scenarios were run, making this the largest and one of the most successful times we have conducted Urban Shield,” said Capt. Jarret Holms, the incident commander for Urban Shield 2014 with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department.
With all the different scenarios for Special Weapons and Tactics, explosive ordnance disposal, CBRN, and firefighting teams, each unit shared and gained new procedures for dealing with different situations.
“It is definitely great training to be a part of,” said Gleeson. “They should definitely continue Urban Shield because we learn so much from one another.”
Past events show why Urban Shield should be continued, said James Baker, an Urban Shield programs officer.
“We had been running the Urban Shield program for two years prior to the Boston bombing, so when the bombing did occur, Boston was applauded with how quickly they were able to evacuate all of the victims to local hospitals,” said Baker.
“Other than the few killed upon impact, no one else died as a result of the bombing.”
By conducting Urban Shield, Gleeson said his Marines have all learned additional techniques they can use while conducting their jobs.
“I’m happy I got to be a part of this and I hope it continues, because I learned a lot that I can teach to others to ensure that we all can respond in a timely manner to any situation that occurs,” Gleeson said.
| Date Taken: | 09.07.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.02.2014 17:20 |
| Story ID: | 144116 |
| Location: | CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 190 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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