Active Shooter Exercise tests installation's communication Published May 6, 2015 By Senior Airman Daniel Phelps 94th Airlift Wing Public Affairs DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. -- An ominous figure strolls into the halls of 94th Aeromedical Staging Squadron for his medical examination board the morning of April 23 at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia. He peeks in through the first open door he saw and a “Bang! Bang!” escapes him. He wanders back through the door and through the labyrinth of the building, his eyes scanning for office entrances, and testing closed doors along the way. Tech. Sgt. Michael Sapanza, 94th Security Forces Squadron, strolls down the hall of the 94th Aeromedical Staging Squadron with a dummy M-9 playing the role of an active shooter during a training exercise April 23, 2015, at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga. This active shooter exercise included all tenant units at Dobbins ARB and the Cobb County Police Department working together to respond to an emergency situation. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Daniel Phelps) Shortly after the figure’s attempted massacre began, a team of Defenders from the 94th Security Forces Squadron floods into the hallways and neutralizes the threat. This was not a real-life scenario, but rather an Active Shooter training exercise conducted by the 94th Airlift Wing Base Defense Operations Center, Georgia Army and Air National Guards, Joint Operations Center, Navy and Marine Corps security, Lockheed security and Cobb County. Tech. Sgt. Richard Potter and Staff Sgt. Adam Pollow, 94th Security Forces Squadron members, rush through the hall of the 94th Aeromedical Staging Squadron to find the active shooter in a training exercise April 23, 2015, at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga. The 94th SFS provides active shooter training throughout the year and for individual units and organizations on the base to be better prepared for a real-world incident. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Daniel Phelps) “Our partners have armed auxiliary forces that are able to help out in instances like this,” said Maj. Robert Mayes, 94th Security Forces Squadron. “This tested how long they would take to respond. At one point, he Marines linked up and assisted us in helping to clear out a building.” Cobb County also had a big part in the exercise, Mayes said. “A few officers came on for the exercise to link up with our Security Forces. We wanted to test our communication interoperability with them.” Members of the 94th Security Forces Squadron and Cobb County police department secure the area around the “crime scene” during an active shooter training exercise April 23, 2015, at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga. This active shooter exercise included all tenant units at Dobbins ARB and the Cobb County Police Department working together to respond to an emergency situation. The purpose of the active shooter exercise was a follow-on to a table top exercise held in May last year. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Daniel Phelps) The purpose of the active shooter exercise was a follow-on to a table top exercise held in May last year, said Mayes. The table top was a crawl; this was a walk, which will lead to a run-level exercise around the end of summer. Once the shooter was neutralized and the Defenders secured the building, emergency personnel quickly followed in to treat and transport the “victims” to the nearest hospital. Scott Lewis and David Christensen, Dobbins Firefighters, rush up to the steps towards the 94th Aeromedical Staging Squadron to treat any “victims” during an active shooter training exercise April 23, 2015, at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga. The point of this exercise was to test the interoperability of Dobbins and Cobb County and to ensure mission partners were aware of what their role in a scenario like this would be. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Daniel Phelps) “We weren’t doing this to test our tactical response capability,” Mayes said. “Our cops train weekly on active shooter tactical responses. They have all gone through Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training.” The point of this exercise was to test the interoperability of Dobbins and Cobb County and to ensure our mission partners are aware of what their role in a scenario like this would be, Mayes said. ALERRT is a training standard that has been around since Fort Hood, he explained. It is used by all police departments for responses to active shooter situations. Senior Airman Gerald Jordan, 94th Security Forces Squadron member, watches the backs of his fellow Defenders as they sweep the hallways of the 94th Aeromedical Staging Squadron searching for any potential threats after taking down the active shooter during a training exercise April 23, 2015, at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga. The purpose of the active shooter exercise was a follow-on to a table top exercise held in May last year. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Daniel Phelps) “We want to make sure communication processes are in place and valid for notifications to our mission partners and tenant organizations,” Senior Master Sgt. Jeffery Sickler, 94th AW inspector general, added. We evaluated actions of the facility occupants to run, hide or fight, as trained by 94 SFS, said Sickler. The wing inspection team also focused on the installation control center and EOC for recovery actions required after an event such as an active shooter. As the IG, Sickler oversees the WIT team, which is made up of the functional experts and observers in the exercise. “Sickler had the biggest role in this,” said Mayes. “He oversaw the WIT to ensure all checklists from all organizations were properly followed and if things on them needed to be altered.” There are also several agencies that would come in to play in an active shooter scenario that may not be immediately clear, Mayes said. Dobbins Firefighters prepare to enter a building after it has been cleared by 94th Security Forces member during an active shooter training exercise April 23, 2015, at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga. The purpose of the active shooter exercise was a follow-on to a table top exercise held in May last year. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Daniel Phelps) “In our first table top we learned a lot about what we don’t know and what we aren’t thinking about,” he added. “We need to know what could happen before it happens and to get everybody on the same page. Everyone knows what they do, but not necessarily what everyone else does.” The 94th SFS provides active shooter training throughout the year and for individual units and organizations on the base to be better prepared for a real-world incident. “We offer a one hour class for active shooter preparedness training for units and organizations,” Mayes said. “Ask us to come give it and learn from it.” Since February 2013, the Defenders have trained over 18 organizations and approximately 700 people. “We want to get everyone trained up and aware,” he said. “We can even do it on drill weekends.” For more information on this course, contact Master Sgt. Jason Brown at 655-2449.
