Security Forces train to face active shooter situation

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Nicholas Caceres
  • 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla. --  In the event of an active shooter, many people's first instinct is to run away to stay safe. Instead, the men and women of the 482nd Security Forces Squadron here are trained to put themselves in harm's way to neutralize the target, protect innocent bystanders, and aid the injured.

The danger of being shot by an armed assailant is very real to members of security forces, and because of this, the squadron holds annual training on a variety of scenarios such as the Active Shooter Training held during the June Unit Training Assembly.

The two-day training consisted of building clearing tactics along with a live fire exercise included teams and solo training where SFS members dealt with variations of active shooter scenarios.

"The purpose is to make mistakes here where we can correct them, instead of out in the field," said Tech. Sgt. Frederick Kilian, 482nd SFS training manager. "They train in shoot/no shoot scenarios to appropriately react to each situation according to the threat level."

The training is part of a Law Enforcement Active Shooter Emergency Response, or ASER, program. This program seeks to get law enforcement of different types to use the same techniques to better cooperate in case of emergencies, explained Kilian.

Security forces had permission from Miami-Dade County to use Bldg. 745, located just off base for the training. The mandatory training is required by reservists annually, or periodically for full-time members.

"I really liked the stress on communication and countering," said Senior Airman Antonio Williams, a 482nd SFS response force member. "I feel like I learned a lot from the new scenarios."

Security forces members train in low-light, high-light, and dimly lit rooms to be prepared for any situation.

During training, SFS members use modified M4 and M9 rifles that shoot Simunition, a type of paint bullet that is non-lethal but packs a punch. The different paint colors help differentiate who shot what and where.

"It was awesome," said Senior Airman Victor Alejo, 482nd SFS response force member. "It was more interactive than I imagined - reading about it and actually doing the training are two completely different things. The new defensive and offensive tactics were my favorite part."

"The training exercise went very well," said Kilian. "The Airmen were able to quickly adopt the new changes in training and implemented it very well."

Training like this will continue to grow as agencies streamline tactics to respond more effectively to emergency situations, added Kilian.

During each UTA, members of the 482nd SFS train to respond to various emergency situations. This recent training is just one example of how Reservists practice to develop skills to ensure they're using the proper tactics, techniques and procedures during incidents like an active shooter.