Fairchild conducts active shooter exercise Published Sept. 3, 2013 By Airman 1st Class Sam Fogleman 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Fairchild immersed its personnel in a precautionary exercise Aug. 29 to prepare the base for the unlikely, yet possible, scenario of an active shooter. "An active shooter is probably among the most dangerous threats to base personnel," said Maj. Sean Howlett, 92nd Air Refueling Wing director of inspections. "We based the exercise on a scenario that is quite feasible." The exercise included a hypothetical active shooter at building 2060, with a subsequent 911 call and a Security Forces response to the situation. Units across the base demonstrated their lockdown capabilities and were evaluated by the Exercise Evaluation Team. "We found the shooter's location effectively, locked the base down and contained the threat," said Howlett. "Security Forces responded quickly by securing the building in order to prevent the shooter from going anywhere else." Base personnel responded appropriately, too. "From what I saw, the units received more than adequate training on 'run-hide-fight,'" said Howlett. Run-hide-fight is the response technique for all base personnel to determine how to properly react in an active shooter situation. Continuous training and preparedness is integral to ensuring base safety, said Howlett. Exercises help personnel become "better and better at protecting ourselves from threats." Base personnel were notified of the exercise incident by a Command Post message, and responded with their practiced procedures. "We did very well," said Tech. Sgt. Joseph Zelinski, 92nd Security Forces Squadron NCO in charge of standardization and evaluation regarding his team's response to the exercise. "We met our main objectives of finding and stopping the shooter. As with any exercise, there are things we can work on, but Fairchild can feel good that we are prepared to meet the threat and stop it."