CENSECFOR Celebrates 20 Years of Providing Security Through Knowledge

CENSECFOR Celebrates 20 Years of Providing Security Through Knowledge

by Darryl Orrell, Center for Security Forces Public Affairs

11 September 2024 VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - This year, 2024, marks the Center for Security Forces' 20th anniversary of providing specialized training in force protection, expeditionary warfare, code of conduct, law enforcement, and, more recently, small craft operations.

The center's beginning spans back to the weeks and months following the horrific terrorist attack on the USS Cole (DDG 67) in 2000 and the subsequent attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and United Airlines Flight 93 in 2001.

As a result, the U.S. Navy's security posture changed dramatically, with antiterrorism and force protection emerging as critical missions that affected all afloat and ashore operational units and crossed every naval community.

In response to the rapid, emerging changes and increased threats of global terrorism, the Chief of Naval Operations established the U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFFC) to serve as the Navy's executive agent for antiterrorism and force protection.

In turn, due to the rapid growth of the ATFP mission and increasing training requirements, USFFC established the Antiterrorism Force Protection Warfare Development Center to address the Navy-wide training and doctrinal issues involved with antiterrorism and force protection.

In June 2004, the ATFPWDC transformed into the Center for Antiterrorism and Navy Security Forces, one of fifteen learning centers within the Naval Education and Training Command. In 2006, the center was renamed the Center for Security Forces (CENSECFOR).

In the early years following 9/11, the mission of the U.S. Navy master-at-arms rating expanded exponentially, becoming more security/reaction force capable yet retaining its traditional role in law enforcement.

In addition to the increasing mission of the master-at-arms rate, there was a growing demand for master-at-arms personnel. Before 9/11, the manning level for the rate was about 1,000 Sailors. In 2007, the rating reached an end strength of more than 13,000 Sailors. By 2013, the Center for Security Forces had graduated more than 15,000 students from its Master-at-Arms "A" School.

"When the Center for Security Forces first stood up in 2004, Captain William Daniels had a vision," said Robert Burgett, learning standards officer at the Center for Security Forces. "That vision was expertly carried on by Captain Mark Kohart and subsequent commanding officers, which was to meet fleet training requirements by transforming the emerging master-at-arms from a shore-intensive, law enforcement-centric rating into today's security force reaction-based, holistic rating that is capable of providing base protection and force projection throughout the Navy."

In 2005, the Center for Security Forces delivered 23 courses of instruction, which pales compared to today's more than 60 courses offered year-round. Some include Non-Compliant Boarding-Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure; Expeditionary Combat Skills, Security Reaction Force Basic and Advanced; and Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape training.

The Commanding Officers Antiterrorism Training (COAT) course, launched in 2003, has systematically spawned a series of similar courses that are community-specific and tailored to unique missions and needs.

"The Navy's COAT course was initiated to meet the new Department of Defense antiterrorism standards for force protection training," said Robert Essmann, who serves as the center's program manager for the COAT, Antiterrorism Officer, and Naval Security Force Officer courses.

During its infancy, the two-day COAT course was delivered monthly in the Drexler Conference Center at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story. The course covered broad force protection policies and planning guidance for command officers from all Navy warfare communities.

Over time, the course was redesigned and tailored to individual warfare communities and delivered at their prospective commanding officer pipeline training locations," said Essmann. "New courses were introduced to meet the demand for customized training for Navy Reserve Center and Navy Recruiting prospective commanding officers following the terrorist shooting at Navy Operational Support Center Chattanooga in 2015. Additionally, a new online course for prospective commanding officers of tenant commands started in 2019 after the terrorist shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola."

According to Essmann, judgment-based engagement training, or JET, is the pinnacle of today's COAT course. This training uses a weapons simulator and interactive videos to bring real-world life-or-death scenarios into the classroom. These practical training exercises expose Navy leaders to the stressful complexities and rapidly evolving decision-making environment of an armed sentry facing a deadly threat.

"JET is the capstone event for the COAT course," said Essmann. "It emphasizes the value of the combined effects of every element of the antiterrorism program in preparing the battlespace for Sailors armed to protect."

Today, CENSECFOR is working to enhance the training it provides on many fronts. One example is to expand the training capabilities of its Master-at-Arms "A" or Apprenticeship School in San Antonio, Texas. The planned enhancements include the construction of a mock town, pier, and ship that will allow instructors to place students in real-world environments and provide greater realism to their security force training.

Another example is the consolidation of all Navy-wide training for small craft operations to reside under the cognizance and authority of CENSECFOR. As a result, the center has developed the Basic Small Craft Operators or BSCO course. The course provides Sailors with basic skills in boat operations and graduates will possess journeyman-level skills capable of supporting afloat and ashore missions.

The Center for Security Forces provides specialized training to more than 20,000 students annually. It has 14 training locations across the United States and around the world, each carrying the command's motto: Where Training Breeds Confidence.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.