LET NO MANS GHOST RETURN TO SAY HIS TRAINING LET HIM DOWN- FDNY
There is one similarity between the two terrorists attacks of Paris France and San Bernardino California that is unmistakable -the responders training was evident for the world to see. In an eerie coincidence both municipalities performed training the day of the attack.
Even as the attack unfolded in France the responders were so accustomed to exercises they actually thought it was another training scenario. A French trauma surgeon actually recalled three full-scale field exercises other than the one performed the day of the attack. In their previous exercises the Paris Fire Brigade and the emergency medical services (service d’aide medicale d’urgence, SAMU) exercised their treatment protocols for victims of a multi location active shooter events over a two-year period.
All training is not the same. So I ask you the trainers of our first responders not to fear the failure but embrace it and challenge our responders so we can increase the mental slide deck of those who will be first on scene. (Slide deck is a term I use for a mental picture of an event that our responders have responded to before so they can use it as an aide when encountering a similar event in the future. The scenario might not be the same but the challenges might be similar enough that the responder has been challenged and be able to make decisions during future crisis situations that draw on this experience.)
Stop the insanity-stop playing fantasy and actually run a preparedness exercise that measures your agencies capabilities. As someone who has designed over 100 training exercises for various local, state and federal authorities over a period of ten years I see this exact phenomenon happening time and time again. Too often managers feel the need to succeed is greater than the need to run an honest assessment of your preparedness capabilities. Is it not better to fail on the practice field than game day? How do you know you’re prepared for a real world event when your crews are following a script? (Your master scenario event list (MSEL)) I love to watch as an exercise unfolds and then you see it happen, the units will turn and face the direction of the next scheduled inject. How silly they look but your exercise must go on.
I am not sure if it is the fear of failure by the exercise players themselves or is it their managers who do not want to see their staff look bad. It could be because the media will be on scene taping and then no one wants to look bad on television.
Train like you fight is a military saying but should not be exclusive so we as tradesman of our respected discipline should perform the same way. It is up to the exercise planner to make the training environment as realistic as possible. Create the backdrop of a movie set and create the drama to drive the pressure of a real world event to challenge decision making under stress. This is how you stop the dog and pony show.
I have engaged many an exercise designer in the debate about the need for the dog and pony show for the decision makers. Their argument is we need to do the dog and pony show in order to ensure our funding. My counter argument is how better to justify funding with a realistic safe training environment that exemplifies how their money has been spent properly developing your skills.
Movie Scene: Create a training environment that encompasses the player. In essence create a real life movie scene. The best exercise design comes from the experienced practitioner who has the real life experience to give you scenarios he has worked before. It not only removes the “this would never happen” response from a player but also ensures you have buy in from senior practitioners from the community you are designing an exercise for. For example, create reality through smoke, heat, darkness and stress. For a fire scenario the first three are obvious but the last is something often neglected when testing decision-making. Everyday our first responders are under stress from routine duties whether it be tired, complex responses, hungry, etc. Often they are already stressed before responding to their most critical response of their tour. Stress can be often designed by increasing a player’s hunger or fatigue by challenging them in other smaller drills (Example run some fitness) prior to the exercise. This practice simulates a possible duty shift that responders have been working for many hours prior to their crisis event.
I offer two examples of highly immersive scenario training as models of doing it right. The first is the Urban Shield exercise that is a regional exercise that evaluates Fire, SWAT, EOD and EMS integrated response. From their website, Urban Shield has grown into a comprehensive, full-scale regional preparedness exercise assessing the overall Region’s response capabilities related to multi-discipline planning, policies, procedures, organization, equipment and training. Urban Shield continues to test regional integrated systems for prevention, protection, response and recovery in our high-threat, high-density urban area. The exercise evaluates our existing level of preparedness and capabilities, identifying not only what we do well, but areas in need of improvement as well. The overarching goals of Urban Shield include striving for the capability to present a multi-layered training exercise to enhance the skills and abilities of regional first responders, as well as those responsible for coordinating and managing large scale events. Urban Shield is implemented to identify and stretch regional resources to their limits, while expanding regional collaboration and building positive relationships.
The second is one of the many courses offered by the National Center for Security and Preparedness at New York States Preparedness Center (SPTC) in Oriskanny, NY. The National Center for Security & Preparedness (NCSP) was established in July 2007. It is the research center for the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany, State University of New York. For example, SPTC is able to engross players into a fully immersive world during their Advanced Active Shooters Scenario: Tactics & Operations (A2S2) course. A2S2 is just one of many courses they provide for New York State’s First Responder community. It is multi discipline response to a 12-hour terrorist attack. The terrorists deploy throughout a fictitious small city in New York over the 1100-acre training venue. The venue allows for the response of the students to multiple locations with over 50 live victims that enhance the reality of the calls. Due to the secured training venue it allows for force on force training with simunitions for all students. The course is intentionally designed to stress the responders by performing training over 2.5 days with 24 hours of actual instruction with the second day extending over 14 hours. New York State has committed to its first responders by offering these truly immersive training scenarios at their State of the art Preparedness Training Center. Examples of other courses offered include Woodland Tactics, Mass Casualty Incidents, and EMS Specialty Situations.
As a responder demand your training is realistic and relevant because your training makes who you are on Game DAY.
Tim Carroll is 20 year veteran of the FDNY and is a contributor to Homeland Security360, a platform where insiders from the policy, law enforcement, fire service and emergency management fields converge to discuss issues related to Homeland Security.
