RICHMOND, VA. –
It’s not uncommon in the age of high-speed technology to get a news alert on your mobile device about a fatal shooting involving multiple victims.
Within the first week of December alone, nine people were killed in Texas and Nevada in what local law enforcement officials categorized as active shooter incidents.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been close to 630 mass shootings in the United States so far in 2023 – at least 10 more than 2022’s total mass shootings at the same time last year.
In light of the growing threat posed by mass shootings and the knowledge that Defense Logistics Agency employees will be in the office more frequently in 2024, security and emergency services personnel hosted a series of active shooter awareness and response trainings throughout 2023, the latest on Dec. 5, here in the Frank B. Lotts Center.
John A. O’Kleasky Jr., DLA’s antiterrorism officer in Richmond, said more than 500 DLA employees, military members and contract personnel attended one of the nine active shooter awareness and response training sessions held during the past 12 months.
“These training sessions were excellent opportunities for employees to enhance their knowledge and exercise increased vigilance in the workplace,” O’Kleasky Jr. said.
During the training sessions, topics such as incident response options, prevention through recognizing pre-violence behavioral indicators, surviving violent encounters and reporting suspicious activities were discussed. Active shooter case studies and lessons learned also were included in the trainings.
O’Kleasky Jr. said doing a deep dive into the “Run, Hide, Fight” concept was a vital part of the learning experience for attendees.
RUN – Simply, quickly get away from an attacker(s) and move to safety. This involves knowing your workspace options in advance – exits, doors, windows, etc. – be flexible.
HIDE – Know your work area. Preferably, hide in an area that you can secure and has cover. Again, plan ahead – know the security capabilities of your work area and what can you do to enhance them. Concealment alone may work, but it could leave you in a very dangerous and vulnerable situation if you are discovered. So, as a last resort, be prepared fight.
FIGHT – Be aggressive. Use the element of surprise, work as a team and – if possible – identify those co-workers with fighting and/or advanced first aid skills. Ready yourself to use any available workplace objects as improvised weapons.
“An informed, alert, and responsive workforce will serve to make us all safer and secure at DSCR,” O’Kleasky Jr. said.
If you see suspicious activity, immediately report it to law enforcement, your supervisor or through the DLA iWatch program (Common Access Card required), O’Kleasky Jr. said. iWATCH DLA is an antiterrorism awareness program that promotes antiterrorism awareness across the enterprise. It leverages every member of the DLA community as a sensor to help identify and prevent potential terrorist acts.
If You See Something, Say Something (YouTube Video)
If you have any questions regarding active shooter preparedness or would like to schedule a future training session, please contact John A. O’Kleasky, Installation Antiterrorism Officer, via telephone at (804) 279-1740 or email John.Okleasky@dla.mil.