Local Navy installations kicking off Hurricane Exercise/Citadel Gale 2019 on Monday

Jacksonville, FL — Beginning this Monday, April 15, Navy installations in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions will be kicking off a natural disaster preparedness exercise.

Naval Station Mayport and Naval Air Station Jacksonville will both be taking part in Hurricane Exercise/Citadel Gale 2019.

Steve Millican, the emergency manager at Naval Station Mayport, says the annual exercise is all about preparing to respond to weather threats and maintaining the ability to deploy forces even under severe weather conditions.

He says the exercise is also about getting sailors and their families ready for any natural disaster event.

"We really want the awareness that if you haven't made a plan or haven't reviewed your plan-- your family emergency plan-- now is the time to do it. We're gonna have everybody together to answer all your questions. We're gonna have all the subject matter experts there to assist you through any and all the questions and issues you may have. But now is the time to plan for how you're going to get out of the area or how you're gonna hunker down," says Millican.

He tells us the plans they have in place now are very robust, thanks to lessons they learned during Hurricanes Matthew and Irma.

"We just have to get that turnover of people-- all of the new people that have come in since Irma-- comfortable and familiar with what the installation does to get everything prepared," says Millican.

For anyone near the Navy installations, Millican says this exercise is more of an administrative event, so there shouldn't be any major impacts to neighbors or anyone driving nearby. He tells us there are no ship movements tied to this exercise; there will also not be any sirens sounded.

The exercise will run through April 26th.