Expeditionary active shooter training

Team Seymour Airmen underwent an expeditionary active shooter training exercise, March 3, 2016 at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. The training is given every Thursday at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. teaching Airmen how to defend and exit buildings properly in the event of an active shooter. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Ashley Williamson)

Expeditionary active shooter training

Andy Anderson, 4th Security Forces Squadron lead security forces law enforcement special weapons and tactics officer, instructs Airmen how to ensure hallways are safe with a weapon during an active shooter training exercise, March 3, 2016 at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. With 20 Airmen per class, the training course provides basic information on how to defend yourself or escape from a building during an active shooter incident. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Ashley Williamson)

Expeditionary active shooter training

Published March 10, 2016
By Airman 1st Class Ashley Williamson
4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --

With current events around the world affecting military members and the people who they protect, our Airmen must be able to tackle any obstacle.

Deploying Team Seymour Airmen are required to attend an expeditionary active shooter training course to better prepare them for dangers they may face.

The course consists of a brief and hands-on training to help Airmen learn to apply what they learn.

“It gives them the basic knowledge,” said Andy Anderson, 4th Security Forces Squadron lead security forces law enforcement special weapons and tactics officer. “It’s just enough to get them out of the building safely. Our goal is to get them out of the building as quick as possible. If they can’t get out, then we want them to barricade in place. The training is to enhance their survivability.”

Training courses, comprised of 20 Airmen per class, are held every Thursday at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. The classes provide basic survival methods in the event there is an active shooter near them. The Airmen learn to be more aware of their surroundings and what to do in case they are unable to escape from an active shooter.

“When we first got the course, a lot happened behind the scenes; lots of coordination with base agencies and unit deployment managers. Collectively we were able to offer a useful course to the wing,” said Master Sgt. Michael Maldonado, 4th Security Forces Squadron Security Forces Training non-commissioned officer in charge. “At the very least it puts a bug in the students’ ear that, hopefully, helps them realize that this type of situation is a real threat.”

EAST training is a modified and less extensive than the training United States Air Force security forces receives, but teaches members with zero law enforcement how to protect themselves. The expeditionary active shooter training teaches a person with zero law enforcement experience how to react safely and swiftly.

“The intent is to get out of the situation alive. A Defender is taught the exact opposite, a Defender is going to find the threat and neutralize it,” Maldonado said. “The instructors use real world examples of active shooter situations that have happened on military installations to drive the point home. There is a certain shock factor instantly delivered when a person gets to see the details of an active shooter situation that happened on our own turf.”

Participants of the training course feel like it facilitated in preparing them for deployed environments.

“Just by knowing how to get to a safe location and how to effectively and actively keep myself and my fellow Airmen safe and to get out of harm’s way,” said Airman Chanel Highsmith, 335th Fighter Squadron aviation resource management journeyman.