Leadership group receives hands-on training for active shooter situations

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Carly Costello
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  Members of Leadership Sarpy toured the 55th Security Forces Squadron Shoot House and received hands-on training for active shooter situations on Feb. 5.

The shoot house, which became operational on June 29, 2012, is used to train the squadron's defenders as well as local and federal law enforcement agencies such as Sarpy Sheriff Department, the FBI and the IRS.

"Our objective is to have one massive training complex that everybody can use," said Staff Sgt. Johann Gonzalez, 55th SFS. "We have always opened this [facility] up because once you're blue, you're always blue. When we're not using this building, we want to make sure that it is being utilized."

And Offutt's security forces team does just that by allowing outside law enforcement to use the facility free of charge for hours at a time.

The new shoot house, which is located in the former outdoor recreation building, was created and built by those who use it, the members of the 55th SFS. The facility, which took more than 225 hours of "cop labor" to create, includes critical training additions that their former facility did not have. These additions include a second level, which allows for essential stairwell training, and rooms realistic in size and similar to rooms and offices located on base. It also includes an observation deck for visitors.

Active shooter incidents were something that we heard about every few of months to every couple of years, but now it's something we hear about all the time, every couple of weeks, Gonzalez said. And that is why the 55th SFS defenders stress the importance of having a plan and knowing how to act when an active shooter situation arises.

"We take these opportunities to be able to pass on that knowledge and type of information that you might be able to utilize or pass along to your work centers," Gonzalez said to the tour group.

Several 55th SFS defenders simulated two actives shooter situations for the group. On the lower level, they simulated Columbine and on the second floor, they simulated Virginia Tech.

The group watched as four trained defenders, some as young as 18 years-old, entered the facility and apprehended the suspects.

"My biggest take away from the shoot house was that those scenarios have become a reality in our society," said Wendy Richey, President of the Sarpy County Chamber of Commerce. "Remember in grade school when 'stop, drop and roll was imbedded in us by the local fireman? I believe we are at that point now, where the ability to react in a situation that was showcased at the shoot house will become a taught lesson for all of us."

During the tour, the group learned how cops respond to active shooter situations and why they respond they way they do. The group also learned important tactics for victims, such as "hands," which means victims should show their hands when being approached by the police during an active shooter situation so the police know that person is unarmed.

Towards the end of the tour, two members of the group got to participate in an active shooter exercise. Kellen Petersen, a civil engineer with Olsson Associates, and Nathan Johns, a commercial lender with First National Bank, got to simulate a cop's role in an active shooter situation. They were armed with a pistol as they entered the shoot house with Gonzalez to find and neutralize the active shooter.

"Going through there was exciting and I felt like I was in a real life video game," Petersen said. "However, take the paint out of the gun, replace it with live ammunition, turn the good guy dressed up as a bad guy into an actual bad guy and that sense of excitement and 'this is one big game' goes out the window."

"It was an experience I will never forget," Johns said. "It gave me the opportunity to interact with those who help to protect my freedom on a daily basis."

Also during their visit to Offutt, Leadership Sarpy witnessed a K-9 Military Working Dog demonstration, toured the U.S. Strategic Command headquarters, received Air Force Weather Agency and 55th Wing mission briefs and toured a RC-135U Combat Sent.