Radford Army Ammunition Plant, Va. --The Radford Army Ammunition Plant prepared for a worse-case scenario during a Weapons of Mass Destruction Exercise held, here, April 22.
The purpose of the WMD Exercise was to provide training and follow-on strategies to update and refine current processes. RFAAP has an Emergency Action Plan that is a living document which is updated and refined annually. The EAP also identifies and defines key target capabilities associated with the priorities and the training and exercises that will help the local jurisdiction obtain or validate those capabilities.
The annual exercise served to test inter-agency cooperation with the U.S. Army, Virginia State Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Virginia State Police Criminal Counter Intelligence Team, Lewis Gale Montgomery County Hospital, Lewis Gale Pulaski County Hospital, Carilion New River Medical Center, Virginia Department of Health -- New River Health District, Regional Medical Reserve Corps Near-Southwest Preparedness Alliance, Western Virginia EMS, Pulaski Sherriff's Department and Christiansburg Police Department, Centerra Security and Fire Department, BAE safety department and security personnel.
RFAAP trains with the local communities, state and federal agencies to become familiar with the 4300 acre facility. A progressive exercise program enables organizations to participate in a series of increasingly complex exercises, with each successive exercise building upon the previous one, until mastery is achieved. RFAAP and participating organizations address known shortfalls and are ready when those capabilities are needed, if and when the threat occurs.
This April 2017 exercise was designed to emphasize three areas: coordination - improve the coordination between and among the various responding teams; communications -- evaluate the communication process between the on-scene leader, law enforcement and emergency responders; decision making process -- access the decision making process as it deals with the activation of the Emergency Operations Center and the execution of continuity plans.
As part of the exercise, the Emergency Operations Center discussed what the typical mentality of an active shooter consists of:
• desire is to kill and seriously injure without concern for his safety or threat of capture;
• generally has intended victims and will search them out;
• may accept targets of opportunity while searching for or after finding intended victims; and,
• will continue to move throughout buildings/areas until stopped by law enforcement, suicide, or other intervention.
RFAAP Fire Chief Jay Altizer, who designed and observed the event, said the "exercise went very well overall." RFAAP intends to hold more staged training scenarios in the future before the next WMD annual exercise. Lessons learned will address any weaknesses found as a result of the training.
The RFAAP, managed by the Joint Munitions Command, provides America's Warfighters with superior performing propellants, energetics and munitions when required to enable engagement and destruction of targets with total confidence. JMC produces small-, medium- and large-caliber ammunition items for the Department of Defense.
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