Photo By Sgt. Marco Gutierrez | Staff Sgt. Brian Koester (left), a role player and K-9 military working dog operation...... read more read more
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CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – On a clear sunny day at Camp Arifjan, the day starts like any other day, quiet. However, unexpectedly from a short distance away, the clear sound of gun fire erupts. Pop! Pop! Pop! Suddenly the sounds of screaming, people running in all directions and chaos. The clear signs of an active shooting in progress. Luckily for everyone at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait this is just a realistic simulation.
Hence, the Area Support Group-Kuwait’s emergency services participated in an Emergency Management training exercise and active shooter simulation, which was designed to test base defense plans, Jan. 31 2017, Camp Arifjan.
“The goal of this exercise is to assess the DES’ ability to work as a combined team through the camp’s emergency services, fire and police capabilities,” said Cpt. Kyle Crocker, the operations officer and Director of Emergency Services. “It gives us an opportunity not only to practice what we train on, but also give the commander a realistic picture of what to expect from the DES.”
The training was a large-scale scenario that brought a lot of emergency services together, to execute the base protection plan. Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Coughlin, the noncommissioned officer in charge of DES, ASG-Kuwait, explained, that all of the emergency response organizations participated in the base defense plan, which included Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Emergency Medical Services, the Fire Department, Military Police, the Force Protection Cell, Troop Medical Clinic, Criminal Investigation Division, and ASG Ministries.
“Every DoD installation is supposed to conduct emergency service exercises, they have to do it routinely,” Coughlin added.
The scenario had some major events that tested the members of the DES, which included an active shooter, discovery of an improvised explosive device, and a hostage negotiation.
“These situations, they can happen everywhere. They do happen in the [United States], not just on military installations, but also in the civilian sector,” Coughlin added. “So having these exercises definitely makes sure that we are properly prepared.”
Coughlin explained that the key aspects of the training are to test the base defense plan, as well as to test emergency response of an active shooter and EOD’s ability to respond to the threat of finding an explosive device.
Sgt. 1st Class Alfred J. Leblanc, with the 127 MP Company of Fort Carson, Colo., explained that the training is of great value to the soldiers, especially junior soldiers who have to make life changing decisions every day.
“The exercise was designed to create a realistic scenario for military police response and how they handle the situation, from assessing the situation to neutralizing the threat, containing the crime scene and getting the outside agencies involved,” said Leblanc. “This training gives them a scenario so they can work through the decisions they should, or should not make.”
When the training scenario was over, everyone involved was able to take a deep breath and assess the situation. Subsequently, the chaos was brought under control, and service members have a better understanding of what an active shooter scenario might look like.
| Date Taken: | 01.31.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 02.14.2017 03:32 |
| Story ID: | 223457 |
| Location: | CAMP ARIFJAN, KW |
| Web Views: | 2,736 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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