Naval Support Activity Souda Bay service members and personnel took part in a Region Training Assist Visit (RTAV), May 20-23, 2024. During RTAV, the Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central (EURAFCENT) Region Training Team (RTT) worked with NSA Souda Bay’s Installation Training Team (ITT) to present training scenarios that tested the effectiveness of the installation’s Navy Security Force (NSF), Fire & Emergency Services, and Incident Management Team.
“The bad guy has the ability to pick the time, date, place, and method of attack,” said Lt. James Stinyard, EURAFCENT deputy region security officer and senior assessor of the RTT from Naples. “The installation only has one task: To always be ready. These ITT drills are our current procedure to evaluate our readiness and our ability to protect, defend, respond, and recover.”
RTAV is part of a continuous three-year training cycle that ensures the installation’s ability to meet its mission essential tasks. RTAV provides training assistance to NSA Souda Bay’s ITT prior to formal assessment by EURAFCENT and CNIC.
“This is our test to show that all the training and effort that we put forth has come to fruition,” said Aaron Courtney, NSA Souda Bay installation training officer. “We get to see—not only how well our Master-at-Arms, Fire & Emergency Services, and Emergency Operations Center can respond – but also how well our ITT is doing to train those individuals and run these drills. We got some observations and lessons learned that we are going to add in for next time, but over I think we ran a really good drill.”
CNIC installations are required to have a qualified training team that can effectively assess and train individuals and watch teams to increase NSF proficiency in the performance of the force protection mission.
“Trainings and drills are vital for Navy Security Forces to ensure readiness, enhance skills, and maintain the highest standards of security effectiveness,” said Master-at-Arms 1st Class Steven McWilliams, NSA Souda Bay’s NSF training leading petty officer. “The watch team performed exceptionally well demonstrating outstanding coordination and quick response times to stop the presented threats.”
“The NSA Souda bay Team is solid,” said Stinyard. “We have high expectations when we come here because we know they are professionals. I look forward to seeing them certify during their final evaluation.”