PENSACOLA, Fla. – Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola is participating in an annual force
protection exercise Jan. 26 through Feb. 6.

Exercise Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain 2026 (CS-SC26) is conducted by Commander, U.S. Fleet
Forces Command (USFFC) and Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) on all Navy
installations in the continental U.S. CS-SC26 is a regularly scheduled exercise and is not being
held in response to any specific threat.

“Comprehensive exercises test our Naval Security Forces and first responders. It keeps our
personnel sharp and ensures the safety of those who live, work and visit NAS Pensacola,” said
NAS Pensacola Commanding Officer Capt. Chandra Newman. “These exercises reinforce
procedures across the installation so personnel rapidly respond and effectively employ the full
scale of our capabilities.”

Citadel Shield, which occurs the first week, is the field training exercise (FTX) portion led by
CNIC. Solid Curtain occurs the following week and is the command post exercise (CPX) led by
USFFC. This two-part approach is designed to enhance the readiness of Navy security forces
and ensure seamless interoperability among the commands, other services and agency
partners in order to protect life, equipment and facilities.

“These exercises are used to provide realistic, dynamic scenarios for our first responders to
react to so they can better protect the populace of the installation,” said NAS Pensacola
Installation Training Officer Erich Brinkmeier. “Consistently testing our security department, fire
department and emergency operations centers with these types of drills makes sure that our
personnel are ready to respond to any threat.

NAS Pensacola, referred to as the “Cradle of Naval Aviation,” is designed to support
operational and training missions of tenant commands, including the Naval Aviation Technical
Training Center (NATTC); Naval Aviation Schools Command (NASC); Marine Aviation Training
Support Groups (MATSG) 21 and 23 and serves as the headquarters for Naval Education and
Training Command (NETC). NAS Pensacola also serves as the Navy’s only installation in the
Gulf with both a deep-water port and active airfield and also serves as a safe harbor for
numerous U.S. Coast Guard and USNS ships during extreme weather situations.