VICENZA, Italy (April 12, 2018) -- American and Italian first responders gathered at headquarters, United States Army Garrison Italy April 12 to walk through an active-shooter scenario where teamwork is necessary to defuse a tense life-or-death situation.
This type of training has become a necessity for emergency personnel.
“In the past several years, attacks in school have been largely on the rise in the United States," said Dennis Brown, law enforcement operations officer who organized the training for Directorate of Emergency Services.
"The Department of the Army, United States Army Europe and DODEA [Department of Defense Education Activity] have been working together to ensure safety in schools is given thorough consideration and (are) pushing it down to local garrisons to be involved.
“In light of recent events, we felt it was time to review our school response plans to ensure they were current and viable, as well as ensuring the jurisdictional and regulatory requirements were understood and well communicated among first responders,” Brown said.
Unlike Army garrisons in the United States, Italian law enforcement officials have jurisdiction and emergency actions. This relationship means strong teamwork is even more essential.
According to Lt. Col. Michael S. Parsons, DES director, “The goal of the exercise was to strengthen the garrison's Italian and American partner capacity to respond to emergencies on the installation.”
Participating in the tabletop exercise were the Southern European Task Force (SETAF) Carabinieri, Italian Base Command staff, USAG Italy Provost Marshal staff, USAG Italy Fire Department, Criminal Investigation Division, DODEA schools, and one of the newest Carabinieri elite law enforcement teams, the Aliquote Pronto Intervento (First Intervention Team).
During the exercise, all participants provided insight and discussed their individual plans. Participants agreed the shared insight was extremely beneficial.
“We work in close synergy with the military police here, and all the joint training we do serves the purpose of better integrating our units and the specific standard operating procedures, always in compliance with Italian law,” said Maj. Francesco Provvidenza, Carabineri company commander.
By law, Carabineri are the first responders so it is important that they are fully integrated in the training process. The engagement of Carabinieri and their API team was crucial to the effectiveness of this exercise.
“SETAF Carabinieri, API and MPs engage for training requirements and emergency needs all the time, and one example of that close work partnership is our July 4 celebration here,” Provvidenza said, referring to the close, behind-the-scenes work that allows the garrison to open its gates for thousands of visitors that come to celebrate Independence Day on Caserma Ederle.
Provvidenza explained that the API units were activated in 2016 to serve as the Carabinieri counterterrorism response teams.
“There are 18 API units based in main cities in Italy, and the API in charge of Veneto region is headquartered in the nearby town of Padova,” he said. “API are specially trained units, geared with specific equipment, who work closely with the Operative Support Squads. OSS are centrally based in Rome and deployed where needed.”
These exercises conducted in combination with host nation counterparts are necessary to diffuse dangerous situations.
“The more we work together, the better the communications between our organizations become. The better the communication, the better the outcome. Through combined training and exercise we are able to develop a trust in each other's unique abilities and strengthen our capabilities as a combined force prepared to handle emergency situations,” Brown said.
“I am profoundly confident in the ability of military police and Carabinieri to perform at a high level. The partnership and understanding that we developed with the Carabinieri, and other host nation first responders is extremely beneficial to both the Vicenza and Darby military communities,” he said.
Immediately following the table top discussion, DODEA staff gave the first responders a tour of Vicenza High School. This provided the team the ability to better understand the facility, which will assist in planning for an emergency response in the school if ever needed.
“The partnership developed through this event, and future exercises, will make the community safer and enhance the overall capabilities of all the organizations involved,” said Parsons.