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By 1st Lt. Joe Trovato
Wisconsin National Guard
CAMP DOUGLAS, Wis. - Airmen, soldiers, and civilian personnel at Volk Field in Camp Douglas, Wis., got a lesson in the unthinkable when they stared down an active shooter during a scenario training exercise June 27.
It was the first time Volk Field trained for such an occurrence, which offered a rare chance to see how military and civilian personnel would react if the terrifying scenario were ever to become reality.
“An active shooter, there’s really nothing that can prevent that,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Brad Dahl, a member of the Wisconsin Army National Guard and the physical security officer for the building the training scenario shooters stormed. “All you can do is mitigate risks, and if you don’t run through a scenario like this, you don’t know what to expect when that person comes around the door popping rounds.”
Some 80 people were involved in the post-wide exercise. Dahl said it is rare that a military facility conducts such an exercise, but incidents like the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009 make it necessary for post’s to train for similar situations.
In the scenario at Volk Field, two gunmen — playing the role of disgruntled employees facing personal issues at home — stormed one of the post’s buildings.
Exercise director Brendan Smith, who also serves as the post’s antiterrorism officer, was pleased with the overall response to the situation, which was over in a matter of minutes.
"I was pleasantly surprised by the overall flow of the exercise and with the response,” he said. “They did a good job and the failures that we had were really technological failures, not procedural failures.”
He also pointed to the cooperation between Army and Air assets at the joint service National Guard base.
Dahl, who helped plan the scenario, agreed.
“I can’t say enough about working with the Air Force guys here,” he said. “We have a great relationship, and not just on physical security. On maintenance and logistics, we work great together on this tiny little home we call a base.”
Dahl said the installation would evaluate the results of the scenario and continue to improve Volk Field’s performance.
“This is ongoing,” he said. “Part of physical security and antiterrorism, you don’t just check the box. You keep going.”
| Date Taken: | 07.17.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 07.17.2013 12:49 |
| Story ID: | 110313 |
| Location: | VOLK FIELD, WI, US |
| Web Views: | 142 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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