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AUSTIN, Texas--The Texas Military Department partnered with Camp Mabry security, the Austin Police Department, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Austin Fire department and Travis County EMS for a force protection exercise Feb. 22 at Camp Mabry in Austin.
The annual event furthered the working relationships the agencies share, this time working together during an "active shooter" incident.
"With today's climate and the things you see happening around the country, you never know when an installation, with as many people as this, will have an active shooter situation," said Roger Devine, the training sergeant with the TABC who helps train the security officers at Texas Military Department installations.
Because those security guards would likely be the first on the scene during an incident at the post, they took the lead, clearing enough of the building to establish a foothold for the other agencies when they arrived.
As the first two guards guard entered the building they quickly encountered the first shooting victim with a realistic-looking head wound. The role players inside the building had moulage applied to add a realist tenor to the event.
All of the agencies responding to the faux shooter were working toward one of two goals summed up in a collective mantra: Stop the killing, stop the dying.
"For us, participating in the annual force protection exercise lets us see where mistakes are being made,” said Lt. Oliver Tate with Austin Police Department. "That gives us an opportunity to correct them before a real mass casualty situation, better equipping our officers to be able to stop the killing."
Once law enforcement secured the scene, it was fire and ems' turn to live out the mantra repeated so often during the exercise.
"The fire department is the 'stop the dying part,'" said Capt. Mathew Rush with the Austin Fire Department. "Once law enforcement stops the killing, you have to get EMS inside the building to get the wounded to the hospital as quickly as possible. So, it’s important that we can work collaboratively in a situation like this."
Like the Police Department, Devine said he was looking for ways he could help make the officers who guard the base every day, even more capable.
"Today gave us a good baseline to see where we can improve," Devine said. "That's why exercises like this are important; We can take a good response and make it even better."
Learning about each other and creating an environment where several agencies can work seamlessly toward a common goal was the real value in February's training, Tate said.
"It's important we learn to work and cooperate with each player that is going to have a role in one of these events," Tate said. "Whether is AFD, APD, the TMD Security officers, or just the administrative people who may be here, because those are the people that are going to have knowledge of the area and more than likely, the shooter."
| Date Taken: | 03.01.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 03.08.2018 16:26 |
| Story ID: | 268582 |
| Location: | AUSTIN, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 109 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Stop the Killing-- Texas Military Department Active Shooter Drill, by Mark Otte, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
