Photo By Chief Petty Officer Nathan Carpenter | NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (Jan. 26, 2021) A security team responds to a simulated...... read more read more
A gun shot cuts the silence, startling me. In that moment, I freeze before realizing it’s “go time.” My palms are already sweaty and adrenaline is flowing as I pick up my cell phone and call dispatch. The first responder answers and I begin, “exercise, exercise, exercise…there is a man with a gun in the building…” The call is punctuated by simulated gun shots that cause me to pause and lose focus. I try to relay as much information as possible to the dispatcher as people begin screaming in the hallway. The shooter is on the move, so it’s time to end the call and go silent.
Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota conducted Operation Reliant Protect FY21, a training scenario to test the base’s active shooter response, Jan. 26.
Fortunately, this time it was only an exercise. Despite it being a simulation, the experience was jarring. It also reminded me and my coworkers of the importance of practicing – both mentally and physically – for what to do if there is an active shooter on the installation.
NAVSTA Rota installation training officer, James Denning, coordinated the operation, organizing many different departments for the big day.
“It is important for all of NAVSTA Rota personnel to periodically review their emergency action plans for an active shooter event,” explained Denning. “Reliant Protect FY21 gave all of us an opportunity to take some time to review what actions we should take in the event of an active shooter in our workspace, how to respond when law enforcement arrives, and how to manage consequences from an active shooter event on the installation.”
While not common, active shooter situations have occurred on military installations in the past. The capability of Naval Security Forces (NSF), first responders, U.S. Naval Hospital Rota, and NAVSTA Rota personnel to respond quickly and efficiently, is a matter of life or death.
“This exercise effectively challenged watch standers in handling several complex situations: responding to the active shooter, processing the crime scene, and ensuring victims were treated in a timely manner, all while maintaining awareness of the installation’s personnel protection strategy,” said Denning. “Overall, I think that Team Rota did a great job!”
Denning went on to emphasize that every exercise heeds valuable lessons learned. The key is to incorporate this feedback into future exercises and trainings to ensure Team Rota is continually improving their response procedures.
When the exercise finished, I took a moment to reflect. I wondered again what would I do in the case of an active shooter. Would I remember to ‘run, hide, fight’ as we are trained? Would I freeze?
A drill may not fully prepare one’s self for a real life active shooter situation, but every bit of training helps to prepare – the individual, the installation’s emergency responders, and the base community – for how to effectively manage the fear and take on the task at hand.
We train to know what to do. We train to protect ourselves and those around us. We train to maintain our readiness.
| Date Taken: | 02.11.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 02.11.2021 08:33 |
| Story ID: | 388832 |
| Location: | ROTA, ES |
| Web Views: | 213 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, From the First Shot: Reliant Protect Active Shooter Drill, by Courtney Pollock, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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