Sailors assigned to the guided missile frigate USS Vandegrift (FFG 48) have been training hard the week of Aug. 12-16 in preparation for their upcoming anti-terrorism certification scheduled for later this month.
The Sailors, both officer and enlisted, have been demonstrating their ability to handle a variety of different scenarios to best protect themselves in the case of an actual event. The ability to handle these types of situations will help the Sailors react better to a real-world security threat and therefore keep the ship, their shipmates, and themselves safe.
“Every chance I get to train my team I will take,” said Ensign Isaac Tiechgrab, who is assigned to Vandegrift. “We have strong Sailors and I know they will meet our elevated training demands.”
Tiechgrab, along with key members of the ship’s Chief Petty Officer mess, shared their personnel training on how to stop a shipboard intruder with the rest of the crew.
“The assessment will involve several key security threat drills,” said Tiechgrab. “The ship needs to be prepared in order to manage enemy intruders, swimmer attacks, bomb threats and other major security threats that could bring harm to the ship or crew.”
Nearly every day until the certification date, the ship’s Anti-Terrorism training team and reaction force members will be working to improve their proficiency and to better prepare for the assessment.
Vandegrift is currently moored at its homeport of Naval Base San Diego. The ship and crew are participating the basic phase of the fleet’s training cycle in preparation for future operations.
[mappress] Press Release, August 19, 2013