MSP ARS conducts active shooter exercise

  • Published
  • By Capt. William-Joseph Mojica
  • 934th Airlift Wing
MINNEAPOLIS ST. PAUL AIR RESERVE STATION, Minn. --  Day in and day out, defenders of the 934th Security Forces Squadron arm up and are assigned to different areas of the base to maintain security. Regardless of frigid or scorching temperatures, they do their jobs extremely well ensuring external threats are kept at bay.

But what happens when a hostile situation actually takes place on base and an Airman turns their weapon on his or her own wingmen? In today’s day and age, these situations are referred to as ‘Active-Shooter’ or ‘Active-Threat’ scenarios and unfortunately they are very unpredictable.

In an effort to examine our notification procedures and response capabilities in the event of a real-world scenario, the 934th Airlift Wing held an active-shooter exercise March 21 as part of an Air Force-wide initiative designed to test how well agencies and Airmen respond to a situation with an irate gunman, with little to no warning.

Because an active-shooter crisis could happen at any time, service members should always be prepared to handle such a situation should it arise.

“This exercise was an essential aspect of ensuring our readiness and identifying deficiencies that we need to correct in case a real-world scenario takes place,” said Lt. Col. Jason Engle, Chief of Wing Inspections.

The situation typically begins when Security Forces are notified of a shooters locations and respond in order to neutralize the threat.

“As soon as we get the call, our patrols are the first to respond and proceed to neutralize the threat,” said Master Sgt. Ronald Blackledge, 934th Security Forces Squadron Force Protection manager.

In the exercise, the “shooter” was a disgruntled Tech Sgt. who was recently passed over for promotion and decided to take her frustrations out on her supervisor. The disgruntled Tech Sgt. followed her supervisor into the North Country Lodge and knocked on their room door claiming to be housekeeping. After targeting the supervisor, the Tech Sgt. proceeded to attack several bystanders before being neutralized by a rapid response of defenders.

While the exercise lasted for nearly 60 minutes, security forces had taken down the “shooter” within a matter of minutes. Although we do not anticipate a real-world scenario, it is imperative that the members of our wing remain vigilant in their training. Because situations like this are filled with unknowns, it is imperative that every room is searched and everyone present is apprehended until clarity is provided.

“These types of exercises are very important in today’s Air Force to ensure that all Airmen and personnel know how to respond and understand that this threat can happen at anytime and anywhere,” Blackledge said. “During the exercise and perhaps more importantly during a real-world scenario, the entire wing would be responding and exercises like this certainly help.”

After security forces cleared the North Country Lodge, medics from participating off-base agencies including the Metropolitan Airport Commission and Allina Health entered the building under escort to treat the “wounded” inside.

“This exercise also allowed us to work with our Air National Guard counterparts, the 133rd Airlift Wing, and some of our off-base partners including Allina Health and MAC Fire capitalizing on this training opportunity ensuring cross-communication is maintained regardless of the scenario,” said Engle.

To ensure all of our personnel are up to par with their training, the wing agency responsible for inspections conducts occasional “Active-Shooter” exercises each year, at various locations on the base and with many different agencies.