Gunman exercise tests Laughlin's reaction, response

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Austin M. May
  • 47th FTW public affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Around 9 a.m. May 10, a shot rang out in the Laughlin Education Center. While the sound of the gunshot echoing throughout the building was very real, the gun it supposedly came from was not.

As a means of better preparing Laughlin personnel in the event of a real shooting spree, similar to the recent one at Virginia Tech, the 47th Security Forces Squadron conducted an exercise involving a lone gunman going from building to building randomly shooting anyone in his path.

In the days leading up to the exercise, emails went out to base personnel explaining proper procedures that should be taken if a group or individual encountered a gunman.

This training is crucial, because it "forces people to think about what they'd do in a real situation," said Col. Dan Laro Clark, 47th Flying Training Wing vice commander.

The gunman, played by 2nd Lt. Steven Benson, began shooting at the education center, then headed to the Laughlin Heritage Center, where he found all the doors locked, so he moved on.

After finding locked doors and failing to gain entry at both the 47th Communications Squadron and the Fiesta Center, Lt. Benson and his entourage of Exercise Evaluation Team members and other evaluators entered Building 246, the 47th Force Support Squadron. He ran throughout the building simulating shooting people, while Senior Master Sgt. Jose Carrisal, 47th SFS, followed behind him shooting blanks into the air to realistically portray the sounds people would hear in a real shooting.

After simulating wounding one security forces member and killing another, the gunman "committed suicide" when confronted by a second wave of police.

"The purpose of the exercise was to test both the 47th SFS's ability to respond to a mobile, active shooter and to test the base's ability to get the word out through rapid mass notification and take correct protective actions," said Maj. Theodore Breuker, 47th SFS commander.

The major said several lessons were learned from the training.

"We were able to get the mass notifications out in what would normally be considered a rapid time frame and many organizations reacted correctly," he said. "We must make our guidance more robust and test it repeatedly to refine our procedures."

Major Breuker said even with a rapid response by police, this type of situation has the potential for a tremendous loss of life.

"The base populous is critical in notifying security forces of an active shooter and taking action immediately upon seeing it or upon notification."

The major stressed why timely reporting is so crucial.

"In this case, seconds literally mean lives," Major Breuker said.
He called the exercise a true "multi-jurisdictional effort," explaining how the 47th SFS worked with the Border Patrol Special Response Team and local Federal Bureau of Investigation office to evaluate the base's response.