Force protection exercise proves successful at Fort Huachuca

By Maranda FlynnSeptember 5, 2014

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1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Fort Huachuca firefighters and Arizona Ambulance emergency medical technicians work together to help save the life of a role player who was "wounded" in a hostage situation as part of the force protection exercise on Fort Huachuca Aug. 27. FPXs help ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Acting as the assailant during the full-scale force protection exercise Aug. 27, 1st Sgt. Brandon Moore, U.S. Army Garrison operations sergeant, Fort Huachuca, is taken into custody after he "killed" one person and "wounded" 11 others during the mock... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Fort Huachuca police secure the area where a "casualty" lies prone. The artificial body was one of the props used during the Aug. 27 force protection exercise that took place on Fort Huachuca. In the background, a Soldier evaluates the processes and ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Members of tactical teams from on and off post discuss a plan to enter the Joint Interoperability Test Command Aug. 27 during the Fort Huachuca full-scale force protection exercise. Inside, a person playing the role of an assailant is holding hostage... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

On Aug. 27 at approximately 8 a.m., an active shooter in the 309th Military Intelligence Battalion "shot" and "killed" a noncommissioned officer during a morning formation in Prosser Village, on Fort Huachuca.

The assailant then fled the scene, heading to the Joint Interoperability Test Command, where he attacked a Civilian, stole his badge, and entered the secure building.

Military and local police responded to the scenario and, with the assistance of the Special Reaction Team, Sierra Vista Police Department, Criminal Investigation Division, post and local fire departments and other affiliated organizations, the shooter was apprehended and taken in for further questioning -- but not before he "injured" 11 others.

Fortunately for everyone on hand, the incident was just a practice round. Fort Huachuca was conducting its annual Antiterrorism and Force Protection Full-Scale Exercise.

The authentic-looking casualties were volunteer role-players. Instead of blood, they were covered with makeup and wore masks that simulated event-related wounds.

Col. Thomas Boone, Fort Huachuca garrison commander, explained that the purpose of the exercise is to identify strengths and weaknesses in providing a safe and secure environment for Fort Huachuca residents and personnel.

"Especially in the Army, we train for our mission that we are going to fight," Boone said. "If you think about the exercise as a training mission, it's just a preparation. It lets people get together to communicate and to build relationships -- whether they are on the fort or downtown. You don't want to meet the local fire department chief in the middle of an emergency for the first time."

In order to enhance the degree of realism, no details were provided to the community about the nature of the exercise but signs, emails and notifications were disseminated post-wide for weeks prior to the event.

Steve McCaan, director of the exercise and installation emergency manager, described how the participation of citizens in the community greatly assisted during the event.

"The way they followed instructions provided by law enforcement when they closed down the gate -- people just responded," McCaan said. "They didn't question it. They didn't challenge it. Their compliance with the instructions from law enforcement was reassuring. It demonstrates that the citizens understand.

"An exercise of this scope and nature is important, not only for Fort Huachuca, but for the other agencies because not just one agency has all of the resources to respond," McCaan added. "So when you have mutual aid agreements when something does happen, processes and procedures are in place where people can quickly fall in and execute their assigned mission."

The Installation Management Command provided external observer/controllers to assess Fort Huachuca's emergency management response and procedures, which were discussed the following day during a "hot wash" meeting with all participating organizations.

"It was a great experience to see -- especially for myself as a new commander -- to see the team pull together," said Boone. "A tragic event, in and of itself, from a training perspective is something to be prepared for. Overall, it was very good. We have support from higher headquarters -- specialists from Fort Hood, Fort Bliss [both in Texas] -- and they will be able to give us some insight as to how we can improve our process, if we need to."

With the exercise now complete, McCaan said he was pleased with the efforts of everyone involved.

"As part of the Incident Command System, having a transparent response to an incident and having that involvement from all those agencies on that level of detail, the exercise was a success," he said. "The speed and sense of urgency of the first responders -- both the installations organizations and our off-base partners -- is one that provides reassurance that if something bad does happen, people are prepared to respond in a timely fashion."