Coast Guard's Potomac River Training Causes Alarm in Nation's Capital

Earlier this morning while watching Fox News, news broke about a potential problem on the Potomac River in the D.C. area. Initial reports indicated that the Coast Guard had fired upon a suspicious boat on the Potomac River. As the media rushed to confirm the rumor of a Coast Guard vessel firing upon a boat, fear and trepidation ran through my mind. I was already emotional, feeling my heart break all over again as I contemplated the loss of so many lives 8 years ago. I wondered what was going on and whether or not our President was in danger, so I stayed glued to my TV for updates.

Every year Americans fear a repeat of 9/11 on its anniversary. On this day of all days, we feel vulnerable. Was this a security problem or just a sign of how deeply the attacks had affected our sense of safety? Within a short period of time, however, it was determined that the report of a firing upon a boat on the Potomac River was false and that the incident was nothing more than a routine training exercise.

Potomac River training exercise on 9/11 explained away

A Coast Guard official explained the incident away as a "routine training exercise" while Robert Gibbs, the White House Spokesman, tore into CNN for setting the stage for panic. According to the New York Times, the Potomac River training exercise was planned in advance and that similar types of training exercises are carried out several times a week.

One might hope that someone in command would have noted the date and chosen to not hold training exercises on September 11, but instead put that valuable training to good use by patrolling the waters near the Pentagon to ensure the safety of all who were gathered at the Pentagon in honor of the fallen heroes. Holding a training exercise on the anniversary of September 11th involving machine guns and defensive maneuvers while nation's capital was chock full of press, survivors and bereaved family members may not have been the best choice.

Is the Potomac River Panic of this morning on the same level as the Air Force One flyover flap from earlier this spring?

Earlier this year in April, the White House was hammered with calls of insensitivity. A photo op gone awry, the sight of Air Force One flying low in Manhattan scared the already scarred residents and incited panic. Buildings evacuated as a result of the panic caused and 911 calls flooded in as bystanders feared that the low flying plane was another 9/11 all over again.

There was huge flack over incident since the public was not notified to expect to see a low flying plane. Adding fuel to the fire were allegations that information about the photo op was not widely disseminated to the proper agencies prior to the fly by, which just added to the confusion. In the end, the administration conceded that the lack of communication was insensitive and Louis Caldera, the White House Military Office Director, ultimately resigned over the scandal.

Is the Potomac River training exercise incident similar to the Air Force One scandal earlier this year? I don't think so. If this was indeed a routine training exercise, such that is held several times per week in the waters of the Potomac, there would not be a need to notify local authorities or alert the media. I don't feel that this incident rises to the level of tactlessness that the Air Force One flyover scandal caused this spring. Granted, some might feel that the training was held an an inappropriate time and should not have been scheduled for such a somber date. Regardless of the arguments pro and con, this incident shows the American public that our service members are at the ready and are not letting their guard down for a moment.

Sources:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/11/AR2009091101740.html
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/11/coast-guarg-fires-boat-potomac-river/
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/12/us/12potomac.html?hp