On the early afternoon of March 27, 2015, the United States Army Health Clinic-Schofield Barracks (USAHC-SB) conducted an Active Shooter Drill to validate the clinic's capability to properly respond to an emergency situation.
In the last decade, there has become an increased level of awareness regarding active shooter incidents across the nation.
According to a U.S. Department of Justice study 160 Active Shooter incidents occurred in the United States from 2000-2013.
These types of emergency events require that commanders remain prepared and ready to protect the safety of our Military, family members and DA Civilians.
During this drill, a rehearsed active shooter walked into the waiting room of the 8th Theater Sustainment Command's Soldier Centered Medical Home Clinic at the U.S. Army Health Clinic-Schofield Barracks and began opened simulated gunfire.
As Soldiers and staff took cover and called law enforcement, the active shooter moved from room to room looking for potential targets.
Within minutes, members from the Special Reaction Team, 39th Military Police Detachment, 728th Military Police Battalion, and 8th Military Police Brigade arrived and took control of the scene.
While the active shooter event was occurring, the USAHC-SB's Command Team and operations section used various communicating channels to communicate with the Installation Operation Center (IOC), the Pacific Regional Medical Command (PRMC), the Department of Emergency Services (DES) and the Soldiers, staff and patients barricaded within the Clinic.
By communicating with various levels of commands, USAHC-SB was able to receive the immediate support needed to contend with the active shooter.
Once the Military Police controlled the scene, USAHC-SB rehearsed a mass casualty scenario for all the notional patients. Each patient was brought to the USAHC-SB Acute Care Clinic, triaged and then treated.
From start to finish, the exercise lasted two grueling hours and ended with traumatic event management provided by the clinics and behavioral health services.
During the entire exercise, the Clinic used the overhead mass notification speaker system to keep everyone informed.
In the following days, USAHC-SB conducted an After Action Review and summarized the things that went well and highlighted the areas that could have gone better.
Col. Peter Eberhardt, Commander, USAHC-SB, expressed that the high level of detail that went into planning this event added realism.
"I was very pleased with the flow of communication to multiple agencies as we executed this active shooter training drill." Eberhardt said, "We tried to ensure that every Soldier and patient felt safe and informed while the Military Police eliminated the threat."
The USAHC-SB looks forward to rehearsing more drills like this and working with the Military Police to ensure emergency readiness and the safety of all patients.
Social Sharing