Shooter excercise set for Jan. 26 Published Jan. 26, 2010 By Senior Airman Emerald Ralston 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- The threat of violence is ever-present in today's society - in the workplace, school system and even random acts of violence affect many people in one way or another. The shooting that took place at Fort Hood, Texas, Nov. 5, 2009 is an example of something that impacts all of us, whether or not we had personal ties to those involved in the shooting. Given this threat, 39 members of the 92nd Security Forces Squadron received training this month in conjunction with local authorities on how to tactically respond to an active shooter. "An active shooter response is a dynamic grievous situation wherein any delay in decisive actions may result in additional injury or death," said John Colt, 92nd SFS instructor. "If there is active violence, our mindset must be to aggressively seek out and stop that violence at the potential loss of our lives - that's where the tactics come in to play." An active shooter is defined as an armed person who has used deadly physical force on other persons and continues to do so while having unimpeded access to other innocent victims, according to Mr. Colt. Those selected from Fairchild to receive the training worked with the Dept. of Homeland Security, Federal Protective Service Inspectors and Special Agents, Spokane County Sherriff's Deputies and the Spokane City Police Department. The training was held at the Spokane Regional Training center and on base. "The training was a resounding success," said Mr. Colt. "The students who completed the course collectively agreed it was some of the best training they have received. The locations used were ideal and the weapons systems created a nearly perfect sense of realism and role players added chaotic realism." Students were trained on concepts and principles, communication, tactics and weapons safety and control. The students also participated in classroom presentations, practice drills and scenarios. "The training was certainly important in light of the recent events at Fort Hood," said Maj. Jeffry Hollman, 92nd SFS commander. "It also provided us an opportunity to work together with our civilian law enforcement counterparts to better prepare the base to deal with an emergency of this nature."