By Katie Aizon, KUAM News Intern

If you live or work around Naval Base Guam you’ll be hearing alarms going off in the distance one week from today but the Navy is notifying the community not to be alarmed.

The public is asked to stay calm as the sound is only the Navy participating in their annual Exercise Citadel Pacific 2024.

Now, Citadel Pacific includes a series of realistic drills intended to prepare on base security personnel to combat any threats.

This includes threats they may encounter such as active shooters and improvised explosive attacks.

Officials said the scenarios are so realistic that they incorporate gate closures, live fires, use of blank ammo and even real time public emergency announcements using the Navy’s general voice system.

They said a sense of realism is crucial for security personnel as it gives them the opportunity to accurately assess areas of improvement to maintain base security.

Security is something the military said they take seriously.

The exercise is set to take place from July 15 through July 19.