Exercise prepares Marines for active shooter scenarios

Photo By Cpl. Mark Stroud | Marines, sailors and Camp Hansen Emergency Medical Services personnel treat victims for simulated wounds during Active Shooter 2011 at the Hansen parade deck July 27. Once the victims were stabilized they were transported to the Camp Hansen Branch Medical Clinic for further evaluation and treatment.  

CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, JAPAN

07.27.2011

Story by Lance Cpl. Mark Stroud 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

CAMP HANSEN, Japan - Military police sprinted across the field toward the barracks with M9 pistols drawn as what was left of a formation of Marines tried to make sense of what had just happened.

During the scenario, a mass casualty exercise held July 27 on Camp Hansen formally known as Active Shooter 2011, a mock shooter opened fire on a formation of Marines, leaving 10 wounded. Then, the shooter attempted to escape capture.

Active Shooter ’11, conducted on the Hansen parade deck, was a mission assurance training exercise carried out to increase preparedness for a mass casualty event.

“The purpose of the exercise was to exhaust the capabilities of the emergency medical services to be able to provide emergency medical assistance,” said Maj. Ryan A. Pyke, anti-terrorism officer for Camp Hansen.

Exercise participants came from several units on Camp Hansen, including MCB Camp Butler’s Provost Marshal’s Office, Hansen’s camp guard, United States Naval Hospital Okinawa, Camp Hansen’s Emergency Medical Services and Fire Station and 3rd Medical Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 35, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force.

“We had all the units participating that would be out here in a real event,” said Pyke. “If it was something larger, a building for instance, we would have someone like [Facilities Engineers, MCB Camp Butler], or 9th Engineer Support Battalion, involved because we would need to remove rubble or debris from the scene.”

A routine PMO patrol was the first to respond to the scene during the exercise, capturing the shooter and calling the situation into the camp guard.

“We received the call and loaded up the guys quickly to respond. My initial job was to get in contact with the commanding Marine out here and figure out where he needed the [camp guard],” said Cpl. Michael T. Gray, corporal of the guard, Hansen camp guard. “After that, we played our part in keeping the wounded calm until they received medical attention and posted security.”

EMS personnel and firefighters responded to the scene shortly after the camp guard to provide medical attention for the wounded Marines.

“Emergency medical services came in and established a triage like we needed them to do,” said Pyke. “They assessed all the patients. This was good training because it tested their real-world capabilities to react to a scenario like this.”

The wounded Marines bore simulated wounds called moulages. The wounds were designed by 3rd Med. Bn. personnel to accurately simulate potential wounds for EMS and Marine responders, according to Lance Cpl. Benjamin J. Gardner, motor transportation operator, 3rd Med. Bn.

The wounded Marines were taken to the branch clinic for continued treatment and to test the clinic’s ability to properly respond to mass casualty scenarios.

“A mass casualty is any medical situation that overwhelms the system, so it took us a while to get going here, but it didn’t totally overwhelm us because we have a lot of units here,” said Chief Petty Officer Laury A. Navat, leading chief petty officer, Northern Medical Branch, United States Naval Hospital Okinawa. “The ultimate goal was send five patients downstream to the [United States Naval Hospital Okinawa], one by helicopter and four by ground transport.”

The Marines, sailors and EMS personnel did a good job responding to the incident and will have continued training opportunities, according to Pyke.

“We are going to have a follow-up scenario here in the next couple of months, it won’t be the exact same scenario, but it will be another mass-casualty exercise,” said Pyke. “This exercise was a ‘crawl’ and we will go to more of a ‘walk’ phase for the next exercise, and finally a ‘run’ exercise.”

• Date Taken: 07.27.2011
• Date Posted: 08.07.2011 16:56
• Story ID: 75010
• Location: CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, JP