U.S. Coast Guard Says No Apology Needed For Drill

By Julianne LaJeunesse, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

Reports of fired shots on the Potomac River were enough to scare civilians and news agencies in Washington, D.C. on the eighth anniversary of September 11, 2009.

Reports of the shots came just before 10 am Friday morning, and by noon, the U.S. Coast Guard released a statement explaining that the incident was actually a training exercise that did not consist of fired shots.

In the statement, U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral John Currier said that while the agency was sensitive to the anniversary of September 11, 2001, an apology for planned training exercises was unnecessary.

“I am not issuing an apology because, althought it is unfortunate that it escalated to this level, what you’re seeing here is the result of a normal training exercise,” Currier said.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today that when it comes to keeping the nation safe, he tends not to question law enforcement- even on September 11th.