Military Police

Military Police contains information about military police functions in maneuver and mobility support, area security, law and order, internment/resettlement, and police intelligence operations.

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17 MILITARY POLICE . 19-15-1 I asked a recent college graduate if she knew what an active shooter was, and she indicated that she did not know how to defne the term. When I began to describe the deadly threat, she quickly recognized the all-too-familiar situation, given that several of the recurring incidents have occurred on school campuses. It is important that everyone know what immediate individual and group actions should be taken in the event of an active-shooter attack. The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of the Army familiarize students with the term active shooter in their annual Antiterrorism Level I Awareness Training, active-shooter classes, and protection exercises. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security defnes an active shooter as "an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confned and populated area; in most cases, active shooters use frearms(s) and there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims." 1 An awareness of this potential workplace danger is im- portant, but it is even more critical to understand what to do in such moments of crisis. The ability to respond appropri- ately can mean the difference between survival and death. Do you know the best reaction options for surviving an active-shooter incident? Possible Responses Studies conducted by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Inves- tigation indicate that individuals and groups who are not trained to react to an active-shooter situation typically freeze in place and take no action. This places everyone at risk. So have you been trained? Do you know what to do if you're faced with an active-shooter situation? The U.S. Army Offce of the Provost Marshal General provides guidance, posters, handouts, references, and other informational documents to promote active-shooter aware- ness. Materials are located on the Antiterrorism Enterprise Portal at ; log-on with a common access card (CAC) is required. One of the handouts, a pocket-size tool entitled "Antiter- rorism Active Shooter Community Response: Coping With an Active Shooter," describes three possible responses to an active-shooter incident: 2 • Evacuate. • Hide. • Take action. Being prepared to make a choice about whether to evacuate, hide, or take action will increase your chances of surviving an active-shooter attack. Seconds count, and seconds may be all the time you have to save your life or the lives of others. Active-shooter incidents can occur almost anywhere, any- time. Developing complacency with familiar work and living spaces can lull an individual into believing that those are safe areas that are protected by automation, technology, and professional law enforcement agencies. But if faced with an active-shooter scenario, you should quickly evaluate your surroundings and tailor your actions to your specifc envi- ronment, which can include your workplace, a grocery store, a shopping mall, a church, a restaurant, a movie theater, or another large gathering area. There is no prescribed evalua- tion sequence; you must decide for yourself the best course of action to protect your safety and avoid becoming the victim of an active shooter. Let's take a look at the response options that are available and the factors that should be considered for each. Evacuate For an evacuation response, you should— • Consider the various paths, hallways, and exits that are available to you. • Select an immediate escape route. The path that you se- lect to avoid or escape the shooter depends on the situ- ation and may not be the same path you would take for another emergency such as a fre. You must choose the safest route that will provide the most protection for your particular situation. You may need to crawl along the climb over obstacles, or escape through a window to avoid the shooter. • Leave your belongings behind. Carrying objects in your hands can slow you down and may be perceived as a threat to law enforcement personnel who are responding

SPRING 2015

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