Naval Support Activity Souda Bay’s Antiterrorism Training Team held a Swimmer Attack Drill at the NATO Marathi Pier Complex to ensure mission readiness on July 11, 2023.
NSA Souda Bay’s Navy Security Force works 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year to safeguard personnel and prevent unauthorized access to equipment, installations, materiel and documents to protect against espionage, sabotage, damage and theft.
“Across the Navy, we have standard drills we have to complete to keep our Navy up-to-date and on the same page,” said Master-at-Arms 1st Class William Deboer, Harbor Patrol Unit leading chief petty officer, NSA Souda Bay. “Whether it be a swimmer attack, a small boat attack, or an unknown object in the water, we use the drills to keep our Fleet ready to fight. We want to give our team as much real-world practice as we can, so they are ready when a real-world situation happens.”
The exercise had multiple components, including a swimmer in a restricted zone, a responding vessel from NSA Souda Bay’s Harbor Patrol Unit, and duty personnel standing pierside to ensure complete, quality mission accomplishment.
“This is the first Swimmer Attack Drill I have ever done with a person actually in the water,” said Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Jalen Johnson. “It made me approach the whole situation differently and allowed me a new, real-world viewpoint. We have to remember that anything could happen at any time and stay at the ready. I can’t wait to see what the training team comes up with next.”
After participating in a routine harbor patrol, the security boat team located the simulated rogue swimmer in a restricted area. The NSA Souda Bay Harbor Patrol Unit vessel piloted by Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Baily Shaw performed multiple approaches warning the swimmer to leave the restricted area. Upon the simulated swimmer’s noncompliance, he was apprehended and taken to the simulated Hellenic Navy Security Forces.
“Trainings like these are extremely important to us as a training team because they ensure we can effectively train our personnel on how to do their job,” said Master-at-Arms 1st Class Corey Gamble, Harbor Patrol Unit training supervisor, NSA Souda Bay. “It’s good to evaluate our guys to make sure they stay on top of their knowledge and to help guide any of the people who are new to the command in the right direction. A swimmer in the water might not even be someone attacking the base. It could just be someone who doesn’t know better and doesn’t realize they are in a restricted area. It’s good to have exercises and drills like these because it allows our personnel to go out and develop those social skills to handle whatever situation gets thrown at them.”