by Nick Delgado

Guam - The Navy's Marianas Shield exercise is officially underway and today military officials allowed the media to capture the events taking place. Joint Region Marianas Training and Readiness Officer Timothy Moon says the exercise is an annual anti-terrorism force training that gives officials the opportunity to run through the policies and procedures when faced with a terroristic event.

He says today they evaluate the response time of military officials when responding to a bomb threat on the base. "How long the building can be evacuated, how much time it takes for the evacuation to take place and the other piece is how long it takes for the response team to get on station and secure the area," he said.

The exercise will continue through the week.