NAVAL STATION NORFOLK — We're taking a behind-the-scenes look inside the ROC: the Regional Operations Center at Naval Station Norfolk.
News 3 cameras were invited inside the ROC with Operation Citadel Shield Solid Curtain, an annual Navy-wide exercise, well underway.
Admiral Wes McCall, Commander of the Navy's Mid-Atlantic Region, oversees it all.
"Everybody if I could have your attention just for a second," he said, offering a quick word for the team assembled in the ROC. "Let's take care of the installations out there, keep the information flowing."
The admiral told me these annual exercises are very important.
"It's really just our opportunity to enhance and assess the operational readiness of our naval security forces," he said.
The drills include a variety of scenarios.
"It could be an active shooter," Admiral McCall explained. "It can be all kinds of different things. The world's not getting any safer, so we have to be ready."
The representatives huddled inside the ROC include security, port operations, NCIS, fire, emergency management and so many more.
Back in April 2012, the ROC was in full activation mode coordinating resources during the Navy jet crash that became known as the "Good Friday Miracle" because no one was killed or seriously injured.
The Regional Operations Center also kicked into gear nearly two years ago when the Navy helped respond to the Spirit of Norfolk ship fire.
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Admiral McCall said the training during these exercises is invaluable.
"It also gives us an opportunity to test new technologies out there," he said. "The world's changing, threats are changing, but so is our technology; we can use technology to our advantage. This gives our bases an opportunity to test those technologies."
These multiple exercises, which involve 13 installations of the Mid-Atlantic region, wrap up this Friday with the following message in mind, the Navy tells me: "We train like we fight!"
