URBAN SHIELD 2009 Terrorizing Oakland & Bay Area This Weekend at Invite of Alameda Sheriff
Armed officers in full battle gear will be scattered throughout the Bay Area this weekend, rescuing hostages, fighting bank robbers and quelling terrorism at the Oakland Airport, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, the NASA Ames Research Center and 22 other high profile sites.
There will be the sound of gunfire and blasts — all part of Urban Shield, one of the biggest domestic terrorism drills in the country. The $1 million, two-day event begins Saturday and will test the training of 27 crack teams from throughout the state, elsewhere in the country and the world.
For the first time in the three-year history of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department-sponsored exercise, there will be a foreign team of officers taking part and international observers. An eight-member team representing the French National Police’s Research, Assistance, Intervention, and Dissuasion unit will compete.
The exercise is a non-stop, 48-hour event meant to test a team’s endurance and equipment in high stress situations such as shootouts, nuclear facility threats and airline hijackings. Each team is graded on their performances and at the end of the weekend, the top three teams are recognized.
Amaury de Hauteclocque, chief of the French RAID team, said although there are opportunities in Europe to cross train with other countries’ forces, there is nothing like Urban Shield, with 25 realistic scenarios at on-site locations.
“There are situations in the States we don’t have in France, like a mass murder in a university,” Hauteclocque said. “Fortunately we don’t have them in France at this time, but we don’t have a reason not to expect this to happen.”
It’s also an opportunity to improve relations between the two countries, he said.
RAID is a highly specialized team. Only one in 20 applicants are chosen to become a member, he said, adding that applicants must have five years experience with the French national police and must pass physical and psychological tests to be accepted.
The visiting team members were each chosen for being the best in specialties required for the exercise, Hauteclocque said.
Romulad Muller, police attache with the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., who accompanied the team, described them as the French “Dream Team.” Members began training six months ago to learn how to combat the stress and fatigue they will face.
All 27 teams will run through each of the 25 scenarios. About 3,000 people are involved in the $1 million event, the cost of which is covered by Homeland Security grants and corporate sponsorships.
Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern said the excerise not only allows tactical teams to run through excerises it also allows them to practice disaster management coordination throughout the East Bay the Peninsula and the Silicon Valley.
“Urban Shield 2009 will challenge the skills and determination of the competing teams by testing their tactical skills in a series of real life scenarios. We have chosen specific locations that replicate identified problem areas and Tier 1 Critical Infrastructure sites within the greater San Francisco Bay Area.
Each participating tactical, Fire,& EMS team will be provided with state of the art technology and or weaponry. The teams will be challenged to successfully complete a multitude of scenarios and will be provided an opportunity to use their issued equipment under simulated real-world conditions. Our goal is to assess overall tactical, Fire, & EMS skills while testing emergency equipment which is currently in service.
Please join us in this challenging and rewarding effort. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office along with our Co-Host, The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office is proud to host this unique training exercise again this year with generous support from the Bay Area SUASI Program. This event is funded by Homeland Security Grant funds.”
More Info:
“For 48 hours straight the weekend of 10/24-25/2009, a bunch of One Worlders and friends of One World will compete in Urban Shield 2009. It’s a 48 hour non-stop competition for 27 SWAT teams from all over the world. The event is hosted by the Alameda County Sheriffs Office. Teams are evaluated on how they deal with 25 different scenarios which take place all over the San Francisco Bay Area.”
http://crossfitoneworld.typepad.com/crossfit_one_world/2009/10/urban-shield-2009.html
“It is interesting to note how terrorism is conflated with bank robbery…. It’s part of a federal effort to characterize all crime — from marijuana possession to bank robbery — as terrorism…
“Urban Shield is funded by the Department of Homeland Security and at least one large corporation — BAE, a death merchant based in Britain. BAE stands accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes to secure contracts in Africa and Eastern Europe.
“BAE’s ‘generous contributions’ to Urban Shield will get the residents of Alameda County acclimated to the “sound of gunfire and blasts” and the presence of militarized cops “in full battle gear ” roaming the streets of the Bay Area this weekend.”
“Armed officers in full battle gear will be scattered throughout the Bay Area this weekend, rescuing hostages, fighting bank robbers and quelling terrorism at the Oakland Airport, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, the NASA Ames Research Center and 22 other high profile sites.
“There will be the sound of gunfire and blasts — all part of Urban Shield, one of the biggest domestic terrorism drills in the country. The $1 million, two-day event begins Saturday and will test the training of 27 crack teams from throughout the state, elsewhere in the country and the world.”
http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_13620723?source=rss
“As the Sheriff of Alameda County, I would like to introduce you to Urban Shield 2009. Once again, with the financial support from the Bay Area Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), assistance from our Co-Host this year, Sheriff Greg Munks and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, the generous contributions from our many sponsors and the support of our Title Sponsor BAE Corporation, this year’s training exercise has been structured to be even more challenging than last year’s training.”
