Active shooter training provided at Eglin

  • Published
  • By Samuel King Jr.
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Shots have been fired. A lone gunman is stalking the halls and rooms of the work center. What should you do?

The 96th Ground Combat Training Squadron and the 96th Test Wing Safety Office examined that scenario with more than 15 people from base and federal agencies at an active-shooter training course Oct. 28 here.

"An active shooter scenario can happen at any time, anywhere. The goal of this training is to hopefully inform you on how to think and react if an incident occurs," said Elizabeth Martin, from the safety office.

Attendees from Duke Field, Naval Air Station Pensacola and Eglin base agencies learned the three critical solutions available in the event of an active shooter scenario.

They are: run, hide and fight.

Run: If possible get away from the scenario as quickly and safely as possible.

Hide: This could be as simple as hiding under a desk or locking the office door and remaining quiet.

"A very easy example of hiding and making it harder for the shooter to get to you is to use a door stop that we would use to prop a door open," said Staff Sgt. Jason Morehead, from 96th GCTS who lead the briefing section of the course. "Actually use it to help keep the door closed by making it a wedge. It will take three times the normal amount of force to open the door just from using that door stop."

Fight: This should only be used as a last resort.

Also covered in the briefing was what to do when law enforcement arrives and indicators and behaviors of potential violence in the workplace.

The attendees then role-played various scenarios they may encounter in an office environment and how to best protect themselves from the situation.

"Some people will never accept that an active shooter situation could be a reality," said Morehead. "For many people, it's always something that happens someplace else. It is time to take these situations seriously and know how to react."