Fort Hood Incident leads to fresh training

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Patrick Harrower
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  After the active shooter incident at Fort Hood Army Base, Texas, November 5, 2009, base security at Travis knew they needed to increase their own preparation and attentiveness to deal with a similar situation.

"Fort Hood is the policy-changing incident that makes us more aware of our environment and our needs in training," said Mr. Doug Del Campo, 60th Security Forces Squadron instructor.

The 60th SFS has since ramped up their training plan to include a whole day of real-world scenarios. The scenarios are based on actual incidents dealing with active shooters. They train on tactics, close quarters combat, weapons engagement, communication and team movement.

In the event of an actual active shooter, Security Forces needs to know that the rest of the people on the base know how to react to the situation.

"It's important that the base populace knows what their actions should be in an active shooter situation on base," said Mr. Del Campo. "They need to know how to react, as well as knowing their exits, an emergency response plan and how to dial 911 from their cell phones."

Security Forces isn't the only agency that looked at their training plan, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations had to review how they provided the proper briefings to prevent future incidents.

"For people that work in the hospital, the flightline and services, it may not feel like they are on the frontline," said a special agent from OSI Detachment 303. "But they are actually the best line of defense."

When the personnel in such agencies are educated at what to look for, they become instrumental in preventing an incident, the special agent said.
OSI has taken many steps to give additional awareness briefings and get the lessons learned out to the base populace.

It can be very difficult to respond to an active shooter when they are already in the attack stage, so prevention and awareness are very important, said the special agent.

"Nobody wants to see something like this happen on their base or in their hometown," said the special agent. "If everyone does their part, we can prevent future attacks like this one; it's up to every one of us."

In the event of an active shooter incident, first seek cover or escape if you are in immediate danger.

After you are clear of immediate danger, call 911 and remain calm. Give accurate and timely information on the phone, such as location, number of shooters, types of weapons and a description of the shooter.

Secure your location and shelter-in-place for as long as possible; response forces will give the all clear when it is safe. Lock the doors and windows and barricade access to the room if possible.

Take an accurate head count and know who's present so you can report the status at your location. Stay put until the proper authorities instruct you to move.
If you notice suspicious behavior, call Eagle Eyes to report it at 424-3293 or report it to Security Forces.