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    Active shooter training test 1-133rd Infantry staff and Cedar Falls police officers

    Standing guard

    Courtesy Photo | A Major Incident Response Team member stands guard, as Sgt. 1st. Class Wade Corell, a...... read more read more

    JOHNSTON, IA, UNITED STATES

    02.08.2017

    Story by Master Sgt. Duff E. McFadden 

    135th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

    By Capt. Ramah Husidic
    135th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
    Iowa Army National Guard

    WATERLOO, Iowa – Approximately 30 Iowa Army National Guard Soldiers and police officers from the Cedar Falls Police Department’s Major Incident Response Team (MIRT) recently participated in active shooter reaction drills at the Waterloo armory. This joint exercise provided state and local agencies with force protection issues and measured local law enforcement responses.

    Soldiers participating in the training consisted of the Armory’s full-time 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Battalion staff. The Cedar Falls Police Department’s MIRT, a specialized, operational intervention unit based out of the Cedar Falls City Hall, can be instantly activated to resolve non-routine incidents.

    “The guidance I gave was, ‘Act like it’s a normal day of work.’ Even though everyone knew we were going to do active shooter training - don’t anticipate it. Try and treat the morning like a regular day,” said Maj. Matt Parrino, the Officer in Charge at Waterloo’s 1-133rd Infantry. “This allowed us to be unaware of what was going on. You need to go about work like you normally would, versus just sitting at a desk, ready to move.”

    The three scenarios ranged from an unidentified person entering the armory and opening fire, to having a uniformed Soldier firing at fellow servicemembers, as well as a mass shooting during a promotion ceremony.

    “The Major Incident Response Team reacted very quickly. In real life, it would take longer to assemble. So this opens our eyes as to what we need to do,” said Parrino, “Our biggest risk in the National Guard is a large-scale, mass massacre event, so we set part of the training up as an awards ceremony. These gatherings are extremely high-risk, because people are the most important asset we have in the Iowa National Guard,” he said.

    Besides the local staff and police officers, the mass casualty scenario also engaged military and police medics.

    “The makeup and the blood on the scene was done well – you don’t know how you’ll react to a mass casualty scene until you’re there,” said Jeff Sitzmann, 3rd shift Patrol Captain and Tactical Team Commander. “This made it real. I think we’re now better prepared because of this training event put on by the Iowa Army National Guard,” he said.

    More than a dozen Soldiers in the 1-133 are full-time civilian law enforcement officers, while five officers in the Cedar Falls Police Department are also members of the Iowa National Guard. This bond has made training like this more of a possibility and has increased awareness of the assets available within military and law enforcement organizations in Iowa.

    Both agencies are looking forward to conducting more joint training events such as this to increase their preparedness for an event they hope never happens.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 02.08.2017
    Date Posted: 02.09.2017 13:36
    Story ID: 223030
    Location: JOHNSTON, IA, US
    Hometown: CEDAR FALLS, IA, US
    Hometown: WATERLOO, IA, US

    Web Views: 384
    Downloads: 0

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