Pendleton SRT Team Trains to Defend Against Shooter

Editor's note: This military-written story was provided by Camp Pendleton Public Affairs.

By Lance Cpl. Derrick Irions

The Marine Corps Police Academy hosted an advanced training exercise that simulated shooting scenarios to further enhance the effectiveness of Camp Pendleton's security forces on base earlier this month.

The base Provost Marshal's Office Special Reaction Team and civilian police officers participated in the sequence of events at a training building well suited for tactical maneuvering and training exercises.

"When most people think of an active shooter event, they think of Columbine, but there are also other events such as Fort Hood, the Tucson shooting and just recently the [Chardon High School] Ohio shooting," said Michael McSwain, an instructor with the MCPA, North Carolina. "The Active Shooter Program teaches (first responders) how to react to situations like those."

An active shooter, by definition, is someone that displays the ability and willingness to shoot people indiscriminately and without regard to his own life, said Maj. Sean McCarthy, the deputy provost marshal and commanding officer, Military Police Company, Security Battalion.

"It's an issue that needs to be taken seriously and should not be overlooked," said McSwain. "There isn't a profile for an active shooter, so it can happen anywhere. We need to be ready for anything."

Prior to the introduction of the Active Shooter Program, law enforcement agency and military police officials were only instructed to set up and hold a secure perimeter around the scene of an ongoing incident and wait for support from a tactical team, said McSwain.

During one course exercise, a team of participants arrived to a simulated scene where a wounded officer, in need of medical assistance, had to be rescued. Teams used a police vehicle as protective cover and tactically maneuvered to the side of the downed officer. The scenario became more realistic once an academy instructor, acting as an active shooter and using non-lethal, semi-automatic weapons, opened fire on the team from an unknown barricaded location. Teams had to return suppression fire using only its small-arms weapons while safely extracting the wounded victim from the scene.

"This training is especially applicable to help prepare [security forces] against one of our worst imaginable scenarios which is facing a lone gunman," said McCarthy.

After each scenario, participants gathered together, beaded sweat still running down their foreheads, and reflected on the exercise.

An active shooter incident is an unpredictable situation that no one wants to think about. Fortunately, Camp Pendleton's security forces take great consideration in the matter so that the public doesn't have to. Every necessary precaution is used to prevent it from ever occurring and various training programs are in place to increase awareness that will help prevent casualties in the event that it does.

Keep up with Camp Pendleton Patch with our newsletter, which delivers news, alerts and deals to your inbox.  You can also follow Camp Pendleton Patch on Twitter, Facebook and RSS. Questions? Contact Local Editor .