Zach Vargo

The USS Wasp and 3 other ships had to go through a Anti-Terrorism Force Protection Exercise this past week.  Because they are about to go on deployment soon, they have to be ready to fight off any possible terrorists attacks on the ship.  Because there were 34 Midshipmen on board the Wasp, we got to play the OPFOR (Opposing Forces).  As Midshipmen, playing as the OPFOR is a very rare occurance, so we were blessed with this terrific opportunity.

For the exercise, we got to start riots in front of checkpoints, create a spousal abuse situation as a diversion, smuggle a bomb in a bag, and even send a shooter onto a ship and raise all kinds of Hell. The point of these situations was to see how the sailors were going to react and hopefully, they would do what they trained to do.  Despite a wife being beaten by their husband, if it happens on foreign soil, its not the Navy’s resposibility to intervene, but rather to call the local police. The big event I took part in was starting a fight with another person  in order to create a diversion for the watch team so it would be easier for the “terrorist” to get through the bag inspection.  Unfortunately, our Oscar-Winning Performance did not work and the bomb was found. 

The USS Wasp was the only ship to have a perfect record during this drill.  Because I got to take part in the exercise, when I am an officer going through the training, I will be better prepared and will essentially know what to be looking for while.  Hopefully, the situations will only occur during simulation, but one may never know and must always be prepared.