319th SFS Defenders exercise active shooter drills and emergency response Published Nov. 5, 2024 By Airman 1st Class Anthony Nunez-Pellicer 319th Reconnaissance Wing Public Affairs GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- The 319th Security Forces Squadron left no stone unturned during emergency response and active shooter response training Oct. 16, 2024, here. The 319th SFS hosted two training events: emergency vehicle response training, focused on high-speed maneuvers in patrol vehicles, and active shooter response training. Law enforcement officers from Grand Forks, ND, and the surrounding area also participated in the training and assisted in the facilitation of the course. During the active shooter training the Airmen practiced breach and entry procedures and building clearing procedures while navigating a shoothouse, a simulated building with various rooms and corridors. Airmen cleared the training facility in teams of three, with three other airmen acting as opposing forces and unarmed civilians. “You’re going to be in a high-stress situation with lots of noise, you may not know where it’s coming from; but it's your job to make sure every corner of the building is safe and secure,” said Tech. Sgt. Ryan Poteet, noncommissioned officer in charge of training for the 319th SFS. “You can’t relax, you have to be ready for anything to happen in the blink of an eye. That’s how you stay prepared and capable of neutralizing potential threats.” Additionally, they conducted emergency response vehicle training, known as the Emergency Vehicle Operations Course, where they navigated a high-speed obstacle course on the flight line. During this training, airmen drove through the timed course making high-speed turns, abrupt stops and other defensive maneuvers while avoiding cones and other obstacles that would add penalty seconds to their total time. Airmen were graded on various criteria including total time to complete the course, awareness of surroundings, number of cones hit and overall vehicle control. “That type of driving requires a higher skill set than your daily commute, so it’s very important that we maintain and retrain these skills whenever we get the chance,” said Capt. Brian Hansen, operations officer for the 319th SFS. “There could be parked cars, pedestrians, animals or any number of obstacles on the road when you’re responding to an emergency, so you need to be fully in control of your vehicle and properly trained to manage those high speeds.” This training on base helped certify over 300 law enforcement officers from the local communities in emergency response, a three-year requirement that was enabled through the use of Grand Forks AFB’s flight line. “The support we’ve received from the wing, flight line operations and our fellow law enforcement officers has been instrumental in making this happen,” said Hansen. “We would have been hard-pressed to find another suitable location for our training. It’s thanks to the support we get here on base that our Airmen and our partners in local law enforcement received the training they needed.” The Defenders of the 319th Security Forces Squadron stand ready, with more weekly training planned in the coming months.