Malmstrom displays importance of active shooter drills

  • Published
  • By Jason Heavner
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  When it comes to dealing with an active shooter, the nature of the situation can become unpredictable since there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims or their objectives. The situations themselves can evolve quickly and can last minutes, if not hours.

Malmstrom continuously practices these drills is to ensure Airmen can properly execute their skills during a real-world scenario and handle any threat in a timely manner.

With the erratic nature of an active shooter situation comes meticulous planning for a training scenario. The training evolutions are usually copied from real-life situations and according to Vernon Bird, 341st Security Forces Group anti-terrorism and force protection planner, he agrees it’s the only way the training can be affective.

“Whatever happens around the world, we will incorporate into a base-side active shooter scenario here in our community,” says Bird. “We want to keep everyone up to date as much as possible because whatever situation happens in the world can just as easily happen here.”

Another vital aspect of preparing for an active shooter scenario is ensuring all the necessary resources are in place.

“We work with security forces in a support role,” said Brian Wilkinson, 341st Civil Engineer Squadron installation emergency manager. “During the training scenarios, we’re the ones that send out the resources such as fire trucks, ambulances and anything that would be applicable for that particular situation. We’re there to meet the needs of the first responders at the scene.”

Despite having the essential resources in place, it’s the “big unknown” that makes an active shooter situation a challenging endeavor.

“When we go in, our number one goal is to neutralize the threat as soon as possible,” said Master Sgt. Joshua Lewis, 341st Security Forces Squadron flight chief. “After we neutralize the main source of the threat, our job is not done. In fact, it’s the unknown that comes into play because we don’t know the source of the secondary threat, whether it’s an IED (improvised explosive device) strapped to a door or a bomb in the parking lot. We have to come up with a course of action to ensure that there are no other contingency threats that would cause further harm.”

According to Lewis, his strategic plan if dealing with the unknown is to mentally switch roles.

“I always tell my guys to take a tactical pause for 10-15 seconds,” said Lewis. “Take time out to put yourself in the mindset of the shooter and ask what would you do and where you would go.”

For one Airman participating in his first active shooter exercise, it was a completely different mindset when it came to meeting the tactical objectives.

“I come from working security in the missile field where our procedures are cut and dry, but with an active shooter it’s not knowing who you’re dealing with,” said Airman 1st Class Sean Hornby, a member of 341st Security Forces Squadron. “Despite all of that, I thought it was a great learning experience for myself and I feel without these scenarios we wouldn’t know how to lay the foundation of dealing with these types of situations.”

In the event of an active shooter on the premises, personnel should call 911 and provide the essential information needed to deal with the threat in a timely fashion such as location of the incident, number of shooters, type of weapons, and the shooter’s location and description. Afterward, personnel should find a secure location and lock themselves in, limit movements and turn off all lights. Finally, personnel should account for personnel in the vicinity and wait for further instructions from security forces.