The U.S. Coast Guard said it is surging more than 1,000 people to help keep July 4th celebrations in Washington, D.C. safe and secure as America celebrates its 250th anniversary.
"We've surged over 1,000 additional people, in addition to our regular Coast Guard forces, 79 boats to 13 cities to make sure we are prepared for any contingency, and we can prevent or respond to any threat," Adm. Kevin Lunday, commandant of the Coast Guard told ABC News.
Parts of the Potomac River near Washington D.C. monuments will be closed to boaters to provide for a large fireworks display, ABC News reported.
"The Coast Guard remains always ready, always on watch, vigilant for readiness to address any threat and deal with that threat,” Lunday said.
"There's a lot that you don't see that are essential to security as well, and we have counter UAS [unmanned aircraft system] or counter-drone teams to deal with that emerging threat," Lunday said.
"We also have cyber operations teams to prevent and protect against cyberattacks. And then there's a whole team that focuses on planning, sharing intelligence and coordinating operations among all those stakeholders to be able to be ready, prevent and, if necessary, respond to any threat that emerges," Lunday added.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.