SAVANNAH, GA (September 10, 2014): Some 200 law enforcement and military personnel from various agencies and organizations suited up on Tuesday for the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department’s second annual RiotEx operation.
The exercise is held annually to help prepare Metro’s Mobile Field Force and similar organizations for civil unrest situations.
Joining SCMPD units for this year’s exercise were personnel from the Georgia State Patrol, Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, Air National Guard Security Forces, Homeland Security, Chatham Emergency Management Agency and Military Police from Fort Stewart.
Metro units included SCMPD’s Mobile Field Force (MFF), Mounted Patrol, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), and the Metro Command Staff.
“The Mobile Field Force is a unit you hope to never need but always want to be trained and ready to go,” said the unit commander, Lt. Harry Trawick. “We will train on tactics to bring unrest under control and proper response tactics in travelling to the area. Usually, we move at about 80 percent of the efforts we will exert in a real situation. That helps us avoid dangerous interaction with non-participants but prepares our officers for ‘real life’ situations should they occur.”
Trawick pointed out that units such as the Mobile Field Force are designed to protect the public and its property from civic unrest and to curtail dangerous situations that could lead to injuries, property damage and even death.
The exercises are designed to prepare first responders for civic unrest situations ranging from jail uprisings to full-fledged riots.
SCMPD would like to thank all of the Agencies who came together to make this year’s RiotEx a success.
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