FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
As many Soldiers and civilians were pre-occupied closing out their last tasks before a four-day weekend, shots rang out in the hallway of U.S. Army South headquarters on Fort Sam Houston Sept. 1.
At first the shots were distant, then closer and closer. In a matter of seconds, thoughts of weekend barbecues and trips to the beach were dashed and a new thought pulsated with each gunshot heard … how can I survive?
U.S. Army South conducted an active shooter exercise Sept. 1 at its headquarters building to provide its Soldiers and civilians an opportunity to rehearse their actions during such an event. Although many of the participants in the exercise realized that while an actual active shooter event is unlikely, it remains a real possibility.
Just five months ago, the Joint Base San Antonio community was alerted to an active shooter event when an Airman carried two pistols into his commander’s office and opened fire, killing the commander and himself. It was only because of the commander’s quick thinking that a third Airman was able to escape from the room unharmed.
During this incident, the “Run, Hide, Fight” response was immediately acted upon and ultimately saved lives while keeping casualties to a minimum.
It was with this in mind that Army South’s Operational Protection Directorate, or OPD, conducted several classroom training evolutions, followed by the actual active shooter exercise.
“The purpose of this exercise is to put employees into an active shooter situation and make them think through their courses of action which are Run, Hide or Fight,” said Lonnie Crook, Army South OPD anti-terrorism officer. “We want employees analyzing the situation and choosing the best and safest course of action, which ultimately could save their life.”
During the scenario, several shooter teams were employed on multiple floors of the building, providing an increased population of the command the opportunity to react and work through their response plans.
Each shooter was accompanied by a person acting as a safety, while several observers were placed throughout the buildings and immediately outside to witness and note the various response plans that were acted upon.
While several directorates barricaded themselves within their working space, others chose to escape through alternate points of entry. Because of the nature of the exercise, there was virtually no wrong choice as almost anything a Soldier or civilian chose to do provided the command the opportunity to learn from. The various courses of action were immediately dissected during after action reviews conducted as soon as the exercise ended.
“The most important thing about this training is to learn from the After Action Review and apply lessons learned so you can improve your personal response and your section’s response plan,” said Lt. Col. David Mark McNeill, Army South provost marshal. “Murphy’s Law dictates that plans never survive first contact, so make sure to have alternate plans of action if your primary escape route is blocked. In an active shooter incident, stress is an obstacle to rational thought processes. Your plan should be simple and well-rehearsed.”
McNeill believes that a well-rehearsed plan starts with a work environment’s leadership stressing the importance of proper training.
“Employers and employees understand that it could happen anywhere,” McNeill said. “A big factor in everyone taking this threat more seriously is the guidance from leadership in both civilian and government work environments and publishing active shooter training requirements.
Employers and commanders owe it to their employees to keep them informed of the risks and what to do in an active shooter incident.”
A major component of that training revolves around the “Run, Hide, Fight” response.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, being aware of personal surroundings and having an escape route in mind by identifying the two closest exits is an important first step in assessing a potentially dangerous situation. If no exits are available, barricade in place and attempt to hide until help arrives. Last, if no other options are available, attempt to fight the attacker by assuming physical aggression.
Although Army South’s exercise took place at the command’s headquarters during working hours, Crook maintains the skills learned through this event do not have to stay behind when you punch out at the end of the day.
“Families should take the time to at least talk about it,” Crook said. “Talk to your families on how to respond. Simply paying attention to where exits are when going into an unfamiliar situation could save your life.”
At the conclusion of the exercise, while each Soldier and civilian returned to their work stations to begin logging out of the computers and wrapping up any last-minute tasks before their long weekend, the immediacy of the training loomed large. And for McNeill, Crook and the rest of the Army South leadership, they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“The biggest take away should be this isn’t a fire drill,” Crook said. “Previous active shooter exercises show that many people treat it as a fire drill. We need employees to think through what to do in an active shooter situation and respond accordingly. Treating an active shooter incident as a fire drill could cost you your life.”