JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
His normally animated and jovial demeanor changed suddenly one Monday - his coworkers noticed he began acting agitated, depressed and lonely. Being the social person he was, they found it odd when he started shutting his door - usually it was always left open.
When he left his door cracked, coworkers were startled to see semi-automatic weapons magazines strewn across his desk - he didn't normally own weapons. Some wondered if he was going to hurt himself.
Everyone in his office knew him to be a big family man, so they were shocked when he took down all the family photos on his desk. When they asked what was wrong, he would reply, "It's just life problems, but everything will be better soon."
Coworkers speculated as to whether he was upset about the recent election results, the deployment tasking he just received or if he was having problems at home. They battled between not wanting to offend him by asking questions, but not wanting to leave him alone either. The whole dynamic in the office was changing, and not for the better.
A few days later, the culmination of odd behavior shocked everyone when he opened fire on the base, killing and injuring numerous people.
Fortunately, this violent action was only part of an active-shooter exercise at Langley Air Force Base, Va., Nov. 15. Not only imperative in training first-responders, the active-shooter exercise also reminds Service members to always be vigilant in noticing warning signs in their fellow Service members to prevent a harmful situation from occurring.
Master Sgt. Scott Wagonblott, 633rd Air Base Wing information assurance manager, played the role of active shooter in this exercise. His preparation for the role began more than a week before the scheduled shooter event, when he was asked by the Office of Special Investigations to display certain behaviors in his work center, without letting anyone know it was part of the exercise.
"It was everything from showing signs of agitation, feeling for criminals and supporting conspiracy theories. The list progressively got worse," said Wagonblott. "In my own mind I was torn because you're playing with people's real emotions. I truly care about each and every one of my Airmen, and to see them react and feel things that I'm causing, to watch them go through that emotional stress was the hardest thing."
For Airman First Class Jacob Bell, 633rd Communications Squadron information assurance technician, watching Wagonblott's behavior change had a negative impact on his work performance, as well as the entire work center. Bell became so upset that he channeled his concerns initially to his supervisor and later to his first sergeant.
"He's usually a very upbeat person and fun to be around - it's easy to talk to him. It got to the point where he was so negative around us, I felt as though I couldn't be near him because it would upset me that much," said Bell. "It was bringing the whole office down. It's amazing how much one person can affect an entire organization."
Unbeknownst to Bell and the rest of Wagonblott's office, the first sergeant and commander knew about Wagonblott's role in the exercise. Initially, Wagonblott was supposed to keep displaying this behavior up until the day of the active shooter event, but things escalated so quickly, it had to stop four days early.
"It got to the point where people who weren't in my chain of command were going to my commander with concerns," said Wagonblott. "Two flight commanders had notified my commander, and my commander would have to make the decision to mandatorily refer me to mental health. We had to stop it at that point."
That next day, Wagonblott's office was briefed by OSI to explain his role in the exercise. For Bell, the revelation had varying levels of impact.
"I was just extremely relieved that he would be back to the way he was, because he really affected me - I didn't want to come to work at all," said Bell. "To learn nothing was wrong was very uplifting. It was quite the experience and I'll never forget this. It'll be something that I can always look back on and reference."
According to Wagonblott, it was challenging to face his colleagues when OSI revealed the nature of the exercise.
"The look of betrayal, the look of shock, the look of awe. It had changed the dynamic of the office - not from a negative perspective, but people looked back at how they reacted to someone in need," he said. "I think that's a lifelong lesson that they'll carry with them forever. It's a deep, emotional commitment, but this is something that will change the way people will lead."
Once the nature of Wagonblott's behavior had been revealed, the next aspect of the exercise was the active shooter event. In the scenario, a potential outbreak of the pneumonic plague caused the installation to issue mass prophylactics for mission essential personnel. Wagonblott, playing the role of active shooter, became enraged when he was turned away from receiving medication for his family. He went to his car, took his weapon from the trunk and began shooting everyone in sight.
The sounds of screams and gunshots filled the air, and people ran with panic to take shelter away from the shooter. He continued reloading his weapon.
The sound of sirens could be heard in the distance, and Wagonblott barricaded himself into one of the buildings. Members of Security Forces began searching for the shooter as they arrived on scene.
According to Master Sgt. Jon Dahlmer, 633rd Security Forces Squadron A-flight chief, this training prepares Security Forces in the event of a real-world threat and has a lasting impact on the entire installation.
"For the most part we don't practice for an exercise - we practice for the real world. If you always practice like it's real, then you're always going to make the right decisions at all times," said Dahlmer. "It benefits the base personnel when they see us running around with weapons yelling and screaming. It gets them mentally prepared that stuff's going to happen, and it can happen."
Airman First Class Joshua Gershey, 45th Intelligence Squadron geospatial analyst, played a victim during the exercise and echoed Dahlmer's sentiment.
"It's kind of scary because you don't usually hear actual gunfire," said Gershey. "It puts perspective on things, like this could actually happen someday."
The Security Forces team was able to successfully neutralize the threat and apprehend Wagonblott, completing the active-shooter scenario. For Wagonblott's coworkers, the exercise didn't end as swiftly, leaving some to contemplate the lingering effects.
"I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if this was real scenario and people were harmed because I didn't bring it up," said Bell. "Go up the chain as far as you need to go. Just because it's someone who outranks you, don't be afraid to bring stuff up - we're all still people. It's about communication."
Although playing the role of active shooter had physical and mental effects on Wagonblott, he said it was an enlightening experience.
"It's very surreal," he said. "I was shocked at how exhausted it made me to act depressed. I was just playing a part, but when you're truly feeling that there's nowhere to go, it wears you out."
Wagonblott continued.
"That whole wingman concept came into play," he said. "Even though I was acting, if I were truly in that situation and it played out like that did, these people truly care. It was definitely a learning experience and it will make me even a better leader as I go on."
Although this active-shooter scenario was part of a training exercise, it reminded everyone involved that the potential for an event like this is very real. Whether acting as a wingman or battle buddy, knowing and caring for fellow Service members could have a lasting positive impact not just on individuals, but the military as a whole.