JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
The 633d Air Base Wing Inspector General’s office conducted a base-wide active shooter exercise to assess the proficiency and readiness of Joint Base Langley-Eustis, June 28, 2022. A simulated crisis can be used to evaluate the response of organizations such as law enforcement, medical, and other support agencies.
“The scenario for this particular exercise was designed to train our emergency response and procedures we have in place on an annual basis,” said U.S. Army Col. Harry Hung, 633d Air Base Wing vice commander. “This type of preparation and training is absolutely critical for us to make sure we have the right points of contact, that we’re keeping everyone informed and ensuring that our processes and equipment work as expected. Those are all things that require routine training.”
The base populous of JBLE plays a crucial, unique role in real-world incidents; from medical first responders and security forces members, who train for scenarios such as these, to the service members and civilians who are not directly involved in emergency response on a daily basis. Well planned exercises help ensure Airmen can respond quickly and precisely in the event of a real-world crisis. The base trains on procedures to contain the threat, secure base assets and protect our most valuable resources; service members, their families and our civilian teammates.
“The cooperation and initiative shown between emergency management agencies during our training exercises makes me feel confident that if a real-world incident were to occur, we would be able to respond promptly, do our jobs to eliminate the threat and prevent further loss of life,” said Officer Brett Horrell, 633d Security Forces Squadron patrolman.
Exercises also provide command teams the opportunity to review strategic communication plans utilized to address service members, their families and outside media sources while handling a real-world crisis. Practicing skills used in a high-stress environment helps lead to a unified outcome and teamwork leading up to an integrated decision at the installation level.
“All of the participants in this exercise should get the sense that this does not happen as an individual, but as a team,” said Hung. “Our team extends beyond just a particular flight, squadron, or even the wing. We need our community partners and the rest of the installation to work together to address threats, solve the problem and make sure that our people are taken care of so we can continue the mission.”