Ellsworth Airmen participate in training with local sheriff's department

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jarad A. Denton
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. (AFNS) --  Airmen of the 28th Security Forces Squadron here participated in specialized training with the Pennington County Sheriff Department's special response team Jan. 25.

The training was designed to help Airmen understand and develop tactics against armed threats, similar to the incident at Fort Hood, Texas.

"The threat is out there," said Tech. Sgt. Drayton Denson, the 28th SFS training section lead instructor. "Security forces Airmen need to be adaptable when responding to an active-shooter scenario."

Sergeant Denson said the response to a subject firing indiscriminately dramatically changed after the school shooting at Columbine High School, Colo.

"Before Columbine, law enforcement was expected to contain and isolate the threat," he said.

Today, response teams are expected to locate and neutralize the threat in order to save more lives, Sergeant Denson said. The 28 SFS training section is committed to making the training scenarios as stressful and realistic as possible for the security forces Airmen.

"Fort Hood showed us that we need to go back to the basics," Sergeant Denson said. "Response teams need to be ready to handle every conceivable situation thrown at them, while under extreme amounts of stress."

The Airmen who underwent training were taught by members of the Sheriff's deputies who are nationally certified by the Department of Homeland Security. The initial classroom instruction was supplemented by hands-on training at an empty building on base.

"Initially we taught the Airmen about the history of the active shooter," said Lt. Jay Evenson, the Pennington County Sheriff Department special response team commander. "They aren't looking to take hostages or have demands met; they're looking to kill as many people as possible."

Lieutenant Evenson advised anyone caught in a situation with an active shooter to remember three simple rules:
-- Escape from the area if possible.
-- Lock and barricade doors to prevent shooter access. 
-- Find a good hiding spot.

Exercise participants were taken through each scenario by the deputies as they reinforced the safety of bystanders as the primary concern. They were taught to secure all weapons after the threat had been neutralized. After each scenario, the instructors provided feedback on how the Airmen could improve their tactics. Those tactics were practiced multiple times until the team operated as a perfectly functioning unit.

"This kind of training is invaluable in this day and age," said Sgt. Randy Harkins, a Pennington County Sherriff training sergeant. "The better trained these Airmen are, the more lives they can save if a situation like this actually happens."