Active shooter exercises prepare Academy Airmen, cadets for potential threats

  • Published
  • By Amber Baillie
  • Academy Spirit staff writer
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  
For the thousands of cadets, personnel and senior leaders who participate in the active shooter exercises at the Academy, the training goes far beyond satisfying a military requirement.

Paul Ceciliani, an Academy antiterrorism program officer, said the program's active shooter education and procedures help prepare the base populous for a potential threat, enhance partnerships with off-base responders and increase people's awareness levels and personal safety whether they're on or off the installation.

"The response options we exercise (to evacuate, lockdown or take action) you can take anywhere," he said. "Whether you're at a movie theater or in a shopping mall, these responses could make a difference when it comes to saving your life or the lives of others in an active shooter situation."

The last base-wide active shooter exercise here occurred April 4 and included El Paso County Sheriff's Office crisis negotiators who communicated with the barricaded shooter in the scenario.

"Over 10,000 people here went into lockdown," Ceciliani said. "We also wanted to exercise our off-base response capability - making sure off-base responders understood where to go and how they integrate into our emergency plans."

Ceciliani said once people reach a safe location during a lockdown, whether during an exercise or actual crisis, people should call 911 immediately.

"We want people to call as soon as possible to get a police response in motion and to alert the base that something potentially bad is happening," he said. "We want police to be able to quickly take out a shooter and allow medical responders to treat victims as soon as possible."

Ceciliani said he agrees with Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson's message to continually observe Airmen you work.

"Make sure everyone at the Academy is being taken care of," he said. "If people see strange or questionable behavior (from someone) such as a co-worker, we want them to report it to their supervisor. We also want people to report any suspicious activity such as someone taking photos of security procedures here."

Ceciliani said there is no indication or known information of a current threat at the Academy but said Airmen need to understand their responsibilities and response options if one was to occur.

"We're not only an academic institution but a Defense Department installation as well," he said. "We want to increase our readiness levels and let people know there are potential threats whether from an insider or violent home-grown extremist."

The Academy's first active-shooter exercise was held in 2007 after the Virginia Tech massacre, where a senior at the university took the lives of 32 people and wounded 17 others. It was then when the Academy's anti-terrorism office developed a plan and base training to respond to an active shooter incident.

"We've come a long way with our active shooter program," Ceciliani said. "We installed locks on all the classrooms and lecture halls and have learned lessons from every exercise we've conducted."

Unfortunately Colorado has a lot of experience dealing with active shooters--beginning with the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, Ceciliani said.

"We never want to become complacent," he said. "We want to continue to solidify our plans and emergency response procedures here, and continue to build relationships with off base emergency responders - meeting them before an incident."

An active shooter exercise for cadets took place Wednesday on the Terrazzo.
"Commandant of Cadets Brig. Gen. Greg Lengyel wants to make sure the Cadet Wing and his new class is trained and ready to deal with a potential threat like an active shooter," Ceciliani said. "The Washington Navy Yard shooting is fresh in our minds and we must understand something like that can happen at any time. We always need to be prepared."