Concern essential to preventing, responding to violence

Published March 19, 2012
By Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski
380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- An Army master sergeant woke up Friday morning with a plan; it was not going to end well.

Things were disastrous at work. His yearlong deployment had put considerable stress on his marriage. He'd just discovered his wife was in love with someone else. That someone was also deployed at the master sergeant's same location. All he needed was a gun.

And even if it cost him his life, vengeance would be his.

This scenario was the backdrop for a recent exercise for Airmen, Soldiers and Sailors deployed to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing. How would they respond to someone on the installation with a weapon and a desire to inflict violence on everyone in his path with the intent to go after a particular individual?

"We needed a scenario that was realistic so people would respond as if this were a real situation, because the threat of it actually happening is a reality," said Master Sgt. Bill Hoeft, the wing plans and programs superintendent. "If we practice scenarios like this, it gives us some experience in how we would react if it happened for real."

But there is a possible solution to the violence, according to Dr. (Maj.) Samantha Timm, chief of the wing's mental health clinic.

"We have to ask ourselves 'What could we have done to prevent the situation from happening in the first place?'" she said. "Supervisors and coworkers are the first line of defense to preventing active shooters. We have to do what we can to take care of each other, especially while deployed."

As a psychologist, Timm sees people who routinely have relationship issues or suffer from depression, anxiety and a myriad of other stressors. Anyone who feels things are so hopeless that they respond violently - whether against themselves or someone else - was "probably feeling stressed or overwhelmed in some way," she said.

There are two ways the active shooter in the wing exercise could have been prevented:

"People need to reach out early if they're struggling because it's easier to take care of issues when they're small," Timm said. "But supervisors also have a responsibility to look out for their people. Get to know them and talk to them regularly so they'll come to you if they do have a crisis, but also so you recognize a change in their behavior."

Timm said there are several programs in place to help people deal with their issues. In addition to her office, people can speak with chaplains, use Military OneSource or even talk to a friend.

During the exercise, the master sergeant was eventually stopped, but not before he "killed" several other people along the way. If an armed assailant is ever an active threat, standard protocol is to stear clear of them as much as possible so professionals can deal with the situation; which is exactly what Airmen and Soldiers in the exercise did. What's even more ideal, however, is prevention, Hoeft said.

"People in the wing reacted the way they should - they took cover and avoided the gunman," Hoeft said. "It's good to know that if we ever have an active shooter here we'll know what to do. But the best thing any of us can do is take care of each other to keep it from happening at all."

Active shooter