KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- You’re still groggy and weaving into the Base Exchange for coffee and a doughnut, the crisp morning air is hardly driving away the sleep, when the sudden shouts and the identifiable pop of gunshots ring out.
This is an unfortunate scenario base defenders must be readily trained and equipped to handle in the eventuality of its occurrence.
“It’s a reality that (an active shooter situation) will happen in an environment such as the food court,” said 377th Security Forces Training Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge Tech. Sgt. Justin Jacobsen.
To help defenders prepare for such an event, trainers recorded a scenario to integrate into the Multiple Interactive Learning Objectives simulator.
MILO representatives assisted in recording the active shooter scenario at the Base Exchange food court 6:30-9 a.m. on Oct. 5.
The trainers for the 377th Security Support Squadron (SSPTS) recruited volunteers from around the base to play the victims and the shooter.
To help with audio and the reaction of the victims, the shooter would fire blank rounds during filming.
The filming required multiple takes to edit together for the scenario.
The reason is, MILO uses a branching skill-builder system; instructors can select different outcomes based on the reactions and instructions of students.
The 377th Medical Group contributed to the scenario with moulage of injuries for the victims. Moulage is the make-up to represent blood and injuries for training purposes.
“It took about an hour for us to get moulaged,” said volunteer “victim” Staff Sgt. Matthew Desch, with the 377th Maintenance Group.
Joy Creasy, the MILO Range training systems military and federal programs manager, added MILO is appreciative of the volunteers and medics in the scenario and it is obvious they understand the importance of the training on a horrific possibility for defenders.
The scenario will play on a theater system that uses laser-modified weapons to have defenders train on them.
“Since we have been using MILO, the reaction times are getting faster and the identification of threats is faster,” said 377th SSPTS training Tech. Sgt. Peter Creighton.
As a demonstration, two Airmen went through a gate-runner simulation.
Reaction times prior to the theater implementation at Kirtland Air Force Base were a second or more. Use of the system has resulted in a reaction time of less than half of a second.
MILO is also helping defenders train on situational awareness: to identify threats and to be able to accurately portray why that was a threat in the first place.
When filming was completed for the active shooter situation, the MILO representatives also assisted the 377th SSPTS with recording a scenario for a traffic stop and field sobriety test.
“This (system) is the most effective training for law enforcement,” said Lt. Katherine Yazbeck, Raymond G. Murphy Veteran Affairs Medical Center Police Department.
She added that MILO is the most realistic training available and that people are going to be able to learn from their mistakes in the scenarios before they happen in real life, where consequences can be drastic.
“It’s a great tool to have,” she said.
The day of filming followed a MILO Southwestern military and federal user symposium Oct. 4 at Kirtland.
The symposium led by MILO’s subject-matter experts covered a range of topics such as maintenance issues, preparing minds for crisis and best training practices.
Attendees represented a range of federal agencies at the symposium.
“Kirtland does great work here. They already know the lead-in and debriefing for best training, so we built on what they already know,” Creasy said.
She said the turnout of users was fantastic and the feedback from them and the sharing among instructors of best practices will only improve the training programs for all agencies.
The scenarios filmed at Kirtland can be shared through the MILO system so other agencies can use them.
“The ability to tailor a scenario to a specific need for training and the contacts developed for the continued exchange of ideas is a great thing about MILO,” said Bureau of Reclamation Upper Colorado Regional Security Officer Andy Wood.