Marine Corps Base Quantico -- Syed Farook, Jared Lee Loughner, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, Dylann Roof, Michael Page, Tashfeen Malik, Maj. Nidal Hasan, Cedric Ford, Jason Dalton, James Eagan Holmes.
Many of these names are immediately recognizable. Many are not. All of them are killers.
According to a study of active shooter incidents released by the FBI in 2014, there have been 160 active shooter incidents between 2000 and 2013. This is an average of 11.4 annually with an increasing trend during those years. Sixteen—or 10 percent—of the incidents took place on government property.
On Mar. 2, first responders aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico (MCBQ) got the opportunity to practice their reaction to an active shooter situation during a full-scale simulated exercise conducted by the Headquarters Marine Corps Regional Exercise Team. The exercise was held in Lejeune Hall.
The Provost Marshal Office (PMO), Quantico Fire and Emergency Services, Naval Health Clinic Quantico, the MCBQ Security Augmentation Force and Naval Criminal Investigative Services participated in the exercise.
Pete Russett, exercise director and director of MCBQ Installation Protection, said the exercise was meant to evaluate the effectiveness of the Base’s active shooter response plans and procedures.
“The exercise is part of our routine training and exercise program in which we continuously evaluate all aspects of our police, fire, emergency medical, communications, and incident command response procedures to ensure the installation can immediately and effectively respond to all threats,” Russett said.
“Do not give these people an easy out!” Karl Smith, one of the exercise controllers, told 21 volunteers from Marine Corps Community Services who would be role-playing victims. The volunteers had moulage applied to simulate injuries, ranging from grazing wounds to severe gunshot wounds to the head and chest.
“Play along with your injuries,” Smith said. “They’re specifically written for the objectives we want to test. We’re testing certain capabilities. We want these guys to be better than what they are.”
An initial scenario was planned in advance, but many details were not provided to responders, requiring them to think and adapt to an evolving situation. The exercise controllers encouraged “free play” among the role-players and employees of Lejeune Hall—who were given a chance to practice their own active shooter response plans—to add to the fluidity of the events.
Marines and police officers from PMO were the first on the scene, responding to a 911 call placed by one of the volunteers and a witness’s report of a shooter wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and dark pants. In several teams, they worked to clear the hallways, looking for the shooter. One was located in a second floor office dead from a self-inflicted gunshot and a second was found in the basement, locked inside an office with three hostages.
The hostage situation required the deployment of a Special Reaction Team (SRT), a specialized unit within the PMO with capabilities similar to a S.W.A.T team.
As these events unfolded, a Rescue Task Force (RTF) began making its way through the building. RTFs are small units made up of two firefighters/Emergency Medical Technicians guarded by two police officers. RFTs allow medics to begin treating the injured before a threat has been fully contained.
The final piece to be added was a special agent from the Marine Corps’ Criminal Investigations Division, who attempted to negotiate with the shooter for the release of his hostages. The shooter released one in exchange for bottled water and another in exchange for food.
The scenario ended when the shooter fired on himself.
Russett said the exercise went very well.
“We consider any opportunity to fully test our response procedures and tactics and to work with our mutual aid partners a success,” he said. “Though every aspect of the exercise may not have gone exactly as we would have liked, that is OK, and in fact, situations were purposely built into the scenario to fully challenge the creativity and adaptability of the responders. Exercises of this type allow us to evaluate and revise the details of our procedures based on how well they worked during the exercise.
“Complex tactical response skills are very perishable,” Russett continued. “To remain proficient, we will continue to execute small-scale drills, table-top exercises and when possible, full scale exercises similar to today’s event.”
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