The Coast Guard offered the following statement on this morning’s training exercises on the Potomac River.
Coast Guard statement on media report of gunfire on the Potomac
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Coast Guard reported on Friday that reports in the media were based on overheard radio calls made over a training frequency and that no shots were fired during the exercise.
The exercise was planned in advance and was being conducted on a marine radio frequency reserved for Coast Guard training and operations. No recreational boaters were involved in this training excercise.
We are still gathering information of how this training event might have been misconstrued as an actual incident. We will conduct a thorough review of this incident.
Coast Guard boats were operating in the vicinity of 14th Street and Memorial Bridges this morning. Whether or not these were the same boats using the marine radio frequency used for training purposes has not yet been confirmed.
The best way that we in the Coast Guard can remember Sept. 11 and our security obligations to the nation is to be always ready and this requires constant training and exercise. To ensure the appropriate readiness posture we conduct training scenarios across the nation on a daily basis.
How and when this exercised was conducted will be reviewed.
Media Contact: Lt. Nadine Santiago, (202) 372 – 4644
