Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Craig Clapper | An Airman with the 113th Maintenance Group, District of Columbia Air National Guard,...... read more read more
WASHINGTON, DC (April 1, 2016) — The District of Columbia National Guard (DCNG) and other supporting agencies ramped up security and emergency response readiness in the nation’s capital in support of the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center here, March 31 to April 1.
The DC National Guard’s main role in the NSS mission is to reinforce the security and traffic monitoring capabilities of the local agencies in the District, explained Capt. J. Scott Crawford, commander of the DCNG’s 273rd Military Police Company and the operations officer for the NSS mission.
“Basically, our role here is to provide support for civilian authorities in D.C. (such as) the Metropolitan Police Department and DDOT (District Department of Transportation),” he said. “They are another set of eyes and ears for MPD (Metropolitan Police Department).”
Soldiers and Airmen were assigned to designated traffic control points throughout the city were equipped with flashlights, vests and whistles to ensure they would be highly visible to motorists and pedestrians during the mission.
“While they are out in traffic, safety is of the utmost importance on our minds,” Crawford said. His strategy called for personnel to remain visible and vigilant.
There were no problems during the NSS mission and Crawford attributed the success of the operation, in part, to the training conducted and the preparedness developed during training at drill weekends.
“Every drill weekend we crank up our vehicles and make sure they are operational. So, when a mission comes down like this (one), the vehicles are going to work, we can rely on them,” he said.
Crawford also recognized the significance in partnering with local agencies during drill weekends, and said that contributed to the DC National Guard’s readiness during the NSS mission.
“My Soldiers work with other agencies at drill, and we do that on a consistent basis,” he said.
The NSS mission presented a perfect opportunity for the DCNG to show how it executes its primary goal, which is to support the District.
“The mission gives us a lot of visibility, an opportunity to see what the DC Guard does on a consistent basis, and how we support civilian authorities,” Crawford said.
| Date Taken: | 04.01.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 04.03.2016 19:32 |
| Story ID: | 194227 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Hometown: | CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 105 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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