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Whiteman Air Force Base exercise increases Airmen's response, readiness

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Nick Wilson
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  While the unpredictable shootings of the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre and the 2009 Fort Hood, Texas, mass shooting grew from a security threat to a tragedy, many were left wondering how they could have responded.

To help Whiteman Airmen prepare for real-world active shooter threats in a workplace environment, emergency responders conducted a Major Accident Response Exercise on base Feb. 23.

Active shooter training educates Airmen on how to save lives in unpredictable circumstances when an individual opens fire.

"The threat is real and the possibility exists," said Johnny Goad, 509th Security Forces Squadron exercise evaluation team member. "It could happen to anyone at anytime."

"It challenged Team Whiteman to put their training into play; especially tactics such as small teams moving, and searching and clearing buildings in a high stress environment," Goad said.

The exercises gave base agencies an opportunity to work side-by-side with personnel outside their career fields. Medical responders, police forces and Airmen from the fire department all played a role in the exercise.

"We don't get to see the trauma or major injuries you might see during a MARE, so this is an opportunity for our folks to see something a little bit different than they'd see day-to-day in the clinic and is keeps their skills fresh in the event that something like this might happen," said Maj. James Davis, 509th Medical Group exercise evaluation team chief.

"It is not just about how we do our job as medics but it's how we do our job along with the fire department and security forces," Davis said.

This exercise forced Airmen to think outside what they would do on a routine basis and focused on how they'd respond to a major emergency.

"It gets us out of that day-to-day mindset and prepares us to do something in emergency response and in terms of overall mission accomplishment," Davis said.

Because of the time constraints of an active shooter threat, Airmen needed to work under pressure and make fast decisions.

"When you're in an emergency response type situation you don't have the benefit of time," Davis said. "You can't just sit back and deeply analyze everything going on. You have to make split decisions. So attention to detail is certainly important."

Overall, the active shooter exercise enabled first responders to practice moving in quickly and neutralizing threats while treating and evacuating wounded victims.

"If Airmen are put in a situation where an active shooter threat does occur in their workplace, they now know what actions to take and it can become second nature that they know how to react," Goad said.