FORT STEWART, Ga. - Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield leaders learned how to best deal with several possible crisis situations during the Installation Force Protection Exercise conducted at Stewart's Crisis Management Center, Nov. 9-10.
Monday morning began with a supposed chemical spill in the Liberty Woods subdivision. That afternoon and Tuesday morning, they trained on how to appropriately respond to a hostage situation.
The scenario for the first hostage situation was a father without child custody privileges trying to illegally pick up his children from a Hunter Child Development Center. Fort Stewart police, Directorate of Emergency Services personnel and Stewart-Hunter leaders were able to negotiate a solution without anyone getting hurt.
The second hostage situation was much different and resulted in a very different outcome. In this situation, an estranged husband entered the Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith Education Center, where his wife supposedly works. He not only takes hostages, but he has wired the building with explosives.
Working inside the "white cell" of the Crisis Management Center, Joe Lucas, assistant chief of police with the Stewart Police Department, coordinates with the Directorate of Emergency Services, Criminal Investigation Command, FBI and other law enforcement personnel while talking to installation leaders in the "blue room." While these key leaders keep the phones and radios busy, a SWAT team, other law enforcement and emergency medical personnel surround the education center. At the same time, Chris McCormick, installation safety officer, acts as hostage negotiator, trying to convince the gunman not to hurt anyone and negotiate a safe conclusion to the situation.
However, as McCormick arranged to get the gunman a vehicle and plane tickets, word came over the radio that shots were fired inside the education center. Instantly, a command from Col. Kevin Milton in the blue room said, "Move in! Move in!"
More shots were reported fired. The gunman was said to be wounded and down while other reports said that one team member was wounded, three of the hostages were injured and one education center staff member is dead. The gunman was found to have carried two pistols and two grenades. An explosive ordnance team was ordered inside to disarm the explosives; three of which were found to be fake booby traps and three other devices found with the hostages had to be disarmed. The building was evacuated of about 150 hostages, who were debriefed then treated by emergency medical personnel. On hand too are chaplains and mental health personnel to meet the spiritual and emotional needs of the former hostages.
"I wrote this entire exercise with the help of John Stanley," said Curt Hereboldt, MPRI IFPEX team member, pointing to Stanley, Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, who was seated in the corner behind him. "We created a script for these guys (Stewart police and DES personnel) to follow then allowed the leaders to react to the situations we presented them with."
Hereboldt praised Stewart-Hunter leaders' ability to work together to properly respond to crisis situations and save as many lives as possible as quickly as possible. MPRI is a civilian contractor that works with the Army Management Staff College in providing anti-terrorism, force protection and crisis management exercises to garrison and installation commands in order to support their ability to respond to emergency situations.
Social Sharing