Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC) Gulfport Security Department is constructing a shoot house aboard the installation to provide security forces with the ability to conduct scenario-based training in a secure environment.
The facility is commonly used to familiarize personnel in infiltrating structures and methods used to overwhelm targets in the quickest and most efficient manner. A proper training facility is paramount to keep law enforcement officers and military personnel safe in real life situations. For NCBC, it all began with Security Tactics Training Officer, Maj. Jeffrey Graf.
“When I first arrived, they did not train with simunition rounds very often or have a place to use them,” said Graf. “I asked if it was possible to create our own shoot house and was told to draw something up and that is what it took to get the ball rolling.”
The main goal is to teach active shooter and response in various combat environments with the capability of using simunition rounds.
“The facility has about six entrances, so depending on which one we use and what walls we set into place, it will never be the same setup because we can easily change the configuration of the building at any time,” said Graf.
Master-at-Arms 1st Class Rodolfo Gallardo explained that the shoot house will give the department the more advanced training they need to fight the fight and build on their teamwork.
“I wanted to help build the training within our department to ensure we get that sense of awareness for each situation,” said Gallardo. “Now with the shoot house, we will be able to add more to it physically and mentally. By using simunition rounds, our team will be able to feel the effect of someone shooting back at them and know that it is something they have to deal with in a real world situation.”
Realistic and dynamic training environments increase the successful outcome of real time scenarios when split second thinking is necessary. Graf explained that every aspect of the training involved focuses on police survival.
“It’s a one-stop shop where our guys can come in at any time of day to knock out valuable training,” said Graf. “We can conduct vehicle traffic stop training, weapons handling, hand-to-hand training, antiterrorism and so much more and it is all out of sight from the public’s view.”
Currently, security personnel have concerns due to not having a set area to conduct training without impacting a large portion of the base patrons. Problems also come from the weather shift to cold and rainy and not having access to any buildings for the training.
“One of the biggest advantages we have is the location of our facility,” said Graf. “It is inside a warehouse, where we can pull in our own vehicles if needed and we can train without anyone being able to see our tactics.”
Security forces personnel will have access to the training facility, 24 hours a day, during both day and night shifts. Graf stated that it will allow the team set up exercises around their work schedules to become more familiar with their weapons and how to use them as well as fine tuning their tactical skill sets.
The facility is expected to be completed in January 2019 and will be open to base security forces and local civilian law enforcement agencies.
“I'm excited to see this to completion, for my team to see what they have accomplished and ready to see and have personnel use it,” said NCBC Security Officer Ens. William Clark. “It has been a long time coming and will be rewarding to see their hard work pay off.”
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