Internal review: Coast Guard’s 9/11 exercise on Potomac was ill-advised

WASHINGTON -- Holding a training exercise near the Pentagon on Sept. 11 this year was ill-advised, but it did not violate Coast Guard policies, an internal review found.

The Coast Guard review, obtained by The Associated Press, looked into the events and actions that led to false news reports of gunshots on the Potomac River on the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The shots were reported to be on the section of river nearest to the Pentagon where President Barack Obama was attending a 9/11 ceremony. As a result, FBI agents rushed to the scene; the Coast Guard ordered one of its helicopters based at Reagan National Airport to fly over the river to investigate the reports; and the FAA grounded 17 flights departing from the airport, located along the Potomac.

The Coast Guard unit that conducted the training exercise was not aware that the president would be traveling to and from the memorial service nearby, Vice Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr., commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, determined in his review of the incident. If the unit had known about the president's specific travel plans, it would have rescheduled the time and date of the exercise, the report said.

Papp found that the commander of the Coast Guard unit "considered the significance of 9/11 before approving response readiness training on that date and determined it was an opportunity to pay respect to those tragically lost."

While Papp determined that the unit followed standard policy and practices during its exercise, he found "the decision to conduct training on that morning in the selected training area was ill-advised."

Papp added that it was also ill-advised to continue the training after the Coast Guard had received inquiries about possible gunshots. The unit instead made an onsite decision to complete the final two of its seven training scenarios.