[StBernard] La. National Guard conducts anti-terrorism exercises at Jackson Barracks

[Westley Annis]

La. National Guard conducts anti-terrorism exercises at Jackson Barracks

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wwltv.com

Posted on August 27, 2014 at 6:55 AM

Updated Wednesday, Aug 27 at 7:12 AM

Antwan Harris / Eyewitness News

Email: aharris at wwltv.com | Twitter: @antwanharris

NEW ORLEANS -- The Louisiana Army National Guard is conducting its annual
anti-terrorism exercise at Jackson Barracks Wednesday.

The exercise is required each year by the Department of Defense.

As part of the La. National Guard's anti-terrorism plan, multiple agencies
will participate in the exercise including Jackson Barracks Force
Protection, New Orleans Police Department and the St. Bernard Sheriff's
Office.

Officials say this is just an exercise, and the public should not be
alarmed.

"The purpose is to test our emergency response plans to determine any
weaknesses that we have in order to shore those up. It also helps us to work
with our local agencies. Today we have NOPD and St. Bernard Sheriff's Office
that are helping us out. They've been absolutely tremendous and we rely on
them, because we have finite resources here, so we rely on them in any kind
of emergency response, so it's important that we increase cooperation by
conducting these exercises," said Captain Kevin Keese with the Louisiana
National Guard.

It is a coordinated event to train all participants and ensure successful
coordination between agencies in an effort to deter terrorist incidents,
employ countermeasures and mitigate the effects of a terrorist incident.

One of Wednesday morning's exercises involves an active shooter scenario, so
one phase will include an active lockdown, and another phase Wednesday
afternoon will involve a lockdown with an active shooter which is where NOPD
and St. Bernard Sheriff's Office will really help out the La. National Guard
according to Keese.<P>