Courtesy Photo | 180623-N-XX082-0019 PENSACOLA, Fla. (June 23, 2018) Information Warfare Training...... read more read more
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PENSACOLA, Fla. – Pensacola is all too familiar with hurricanes that enter the Gulf coast and Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Corry Station has taken significant measures to ensure it is ready.
Hurricane season began June 1 and extends through Nov.30. Since the beginning of June, IWTC Corry Station staff and students have held and participated in regular exercises and drills that range from filling sandbags and placing them in appropriate areas to securing all computers and electrical equipment in case of interior flooding.
“During hurricane season, it is imperative that we ensure the safety of our personnel and security of our facilities,” said IWTC Corry Station’s Commanding Officer Cmdr. Chad Smith. “To that end, we have embarked upon an aggressive and continuous training path that aids in ensuring our staff and students are prepared to respond in the event of a hurricane or other major weather conditions that may transpire in the greater Pensacola area.”
Although it’s been very hot and humid during these drills, IWTC Corry Station students are very upbeat about their hurricane preparation training.
“This is a total team effort,” said Seaman Colleen Lopez. “We are all making sure we are pulling our weight to be prepared for whatever Mother Nature has in store.”
During one of the drills, while he and other students quickly formed a Sailor conveyor chain and loaded 150 sandbags into a truck, Seaman Jerome Goodman shared, “I am getting a good workout in and building camaraderie with my classmates at the same time.”
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasters have predicted a 35 percent chance of an above-normal season, a 40 percent chance of a near-normal season, and a 25 percent chance of below-normal season for this year. There are three categories of hurricanes, each measured by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale: tropical depression, tropical storm, and hurricane. A tropical depression is the least severe of the three, peaking at 38 mph, and tropical storms range anywhere between 39 mph and 73 mph. A hurricane is divided into five categories and the category is based off how fast the wind is, starting at 74 mph and reaching 215 mph.
IWTC Corry Station has shelter in place and evacuation plans that are determined by the category of the storm. It is not until a category 3 storm that the base would be evacuated and students are transferred to a safe location. For the staff that do not live on base, preparation is equally important. Staff are taught to know their risk due to storm surge, inland flooding and winds, and have an evacuation plan and disaster supply kit.
“Our emergency management officer has done an excellent job in conducting evacuation drills with the purpose of identifying administrative and logistical ‘best practices’ while familiarizing staff and students with correct processes and procedures for dealing with ‘shelter-in-place’ or ‘evacuation’ scenarios that we may encounter during inclement weather this hurricane season,” added Smith.
Information Warfare Training Command Corry Station, as part of the Center for Information Warfare Training, provides a continuum of training to Navy and joint service personnel that prepares them to conduct information warfare across the full spectrum of military operations.
For more news from Center for Information Warfare Training organization, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/cid/, http://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/ciwt/, http://www.facebook.com/NavyCIWT, or http://www.twitter.com/NavyCIWT.
| Date Taken: | 08.22.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.22.2018 07:24 |
| Story ID: | 289770 |
| Location: | PENSACOLA, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 125 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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