FORT BENNING, Ga. (March 26, 2014) -- The Maneuver Challenge exercise, an annual postwide force protection exercise, was held March 18-19 across Fort Benning.
The exercise tested Fort Benning's emergency response capabilities in a variety of areas by simulating numerous emergency scenarios.
One such simulation involved an active shooter at the Sand Hill shopette who took a hostage and barricaded himself inside.
Military police responded to the scenario and, with the assistance of Columbus Police Department and Criminal Investigation Division, apprehended the shooter for questioning.
There was also a simulated car fire at the Harmony Church access control point that required a response from the fire department, as well as an incident at E.A. White Elementary School that had military police respond to an agitated parent.
The initial active shooter scenario also led to a simulated suspicious package event at Building 70 after the shooter implied a possible second event during questioning.
Lt. Col. Jason Czar, emergency services director, said the multiple scenarios helped to provide a realistic level of stress.
"We knew that the commander's intent was to stress the system, and that was accomplished," Czar said. "From beginning to end, it was clockwork. We took a methodical approach to it, but it definitely pushed our resources because concurrently, or shortly there after, we had some other scenarios unfold."
While the simulations were an area of emphasis, Czar said there were real-world events happening simultaneously that also tested the post's resources.
"We had scenario upon scenario, and even during the exercise scenarios, you still have real-world events that you have to respond to," he said. "During this one, we had a real-world car fire on Indianhead. ... We also had a traffic accident before the exercise ever kicked off, and that's where the stress came in."
The exercise helps Fort Benning to identify shortcomings in its preparedness and correct those in the event of an actual emergency.
"This helps us to identify shortfalls and things that we can work on, whether it's our communication with the emergency operations center or the 911 dispatchers," Czar said.
"It also helps us work on communication between the fire and police departments. It went far better than expected. We did some mitigation early on to provide an additional shift during the exercise. That gave us the ability to respond to those real-world events without having to take resources away from the scenarios."
With the exercise now complete, Czar said he was pleased with the efforts of the people in his directorate.
"I couldn't be prouder of the people who were involved," he said. "They did an exceptional job. They responded in a timely manner, assessed the situation and provided the necessary actions needed to resolve each situation."
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