PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. -- When Picatinny Arsenal held its active shooter exercise on Sept. 15, senior leaders commended the arsenal's improvement in communications. But, to maintain this communication excellence throughout future exercises, incidents, and dangerous weather, Picatinny senior leaders say that all employees need to get involved.
"Word gets out quickly [about an exercise], and then we don't have the full participation of the workforce," said Lt. Col. Ingrid Parker, Garrison Commander, at the arsenal's town hall on Oct. 5.
"So, when we did our active shooter exercise, we had only about 75 people in the designated building, when that building actually houses 375 people. That's a problem. I know that the exercises can be uncomfortable and a little strange, but everyone has to participate and it's a great way to get involved with our community."
The town hall at the Lindner Conference Center was led by Parker and Brig. Gen Patrick Burden, Senior Commander of Picatinny and Deputy Program Executive Officer for Ammunition.
Another way to get involved is to sign up for Everbridge, Picatinny's Alert System, said Parker. This system notifies Picatinny personnel, and its military dependent spouses, about emergencies and community news, such as severe weather, unexpected road closures, missing persons, as well as building and neighborhood evacuations.
Persons who are not assigned to Picatinny cannot sign up.
To enroll, employees must contact Timothy Jordan at the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security and provide their names and email addresses. Afterward, employees must login into the system and enter a preferred method of notification (text, email, cell/home phone). The link to the alert system is located in the 'Employee Login' section on Picatinny's main webpage.
"If you're not on the Picatinny Alert system, you need to get on it," stressed Parker. "I know it's bumpy--we're still calling you a lot--but we're getting better with that."
During the active shooter exercise, Parker said that Picatinny heavily relied on the alert system and received 70 percent of its responses in two hours. However, 1,883 arsenal employees did not respond.
At the town hall, Burden also reminded Picatinny members about upcoming blood drives and the importance of Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention, or SHARP, training.
In addition, he informed employees about the Team Picatinny Esprit de Corps Run on Oct. 22, the Fire Station Ribbon Cutting on Oct. 20, and thanked employees for their continuous hard work and dedication.
"I don't know if you're aware, but we have about 180,000 Soldiers supporting our combatant commanders around the world," said Burden. "You hear a lot about how our missions are declining in Southwest Asia, but we're still busy, and the things that you're doing--the things that you're doing right here at Picatinny Arsenal--is helping to ensure that our Soldiers can accomplish those missions and that they come home safely."
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