As a former CIA agent specializing in international security and intelligence, I’ve observed the rise in global terrorism and political violence. However, today I’m concerned about how US companies are addressing the growing threat of active shooters in the workplace.

According to gunviolencearchive.org,  there have been 540 mass shootings this year, that’s about 2 each and every day. American businesses ignore this fact at their peril. The fallout from attacks is tragic and includes loss of life, catastrophic injuries, damage to the physical facility, disruption in services and cash flow, loss of employees and customers, federal, state, local government and insurance agency investigations, and finally, lawsuits, judgments, awards and fines with loss of life being the most devastating consequence.

In my work, I was introduced to an organization whose mission and vision is to provide American employers with a cost-effective, results-effective program to train their employees in the protocol for surviving an active shooter attack. The program is called the Active Shooter Simulation Training Program – ASST for short (say Assist). The company is ProDefense USA. The ASST program consists of 3 non-negotiable elements:

1.     Active Shooter Vulnerability Assessment

a.     Analyzing the current and emerging threats from active shooters in your industry and location.

b.     Identifying your security weaknesses and vulnerabilities to an active shooter assault.

c.     Recommending appropriate security measures to mitigate your risks.

d.     Providing guidance and support for implementing appropriate security measures and training your staff.

2.     Active Shooter Pre-training Safety Orientation for Staff

a.     Before your 4-hour, on-site active shooter simulation training, you will attend a safety orientation session on what to expect and how to prepare for the training. You’ll learn:

i. You’ll learn the objectives and benefits of the training, which will equip you with the skills and knowledge to survive an active shooter or violent intruder situation.

ii. You’ll also be introduced to the instructors, who are ex-military and Intelligence community professionals skilled in emergency response tactics and techniques.

 iii. You’ll cover the basic principles of survival, such as Run-Hide-Fight, and how you will apply them in realistic scenarios with props and simulated threats.

iv. You’ll review your firm’s location-specific Active Shooter Vulnerability Assessment, which analyzes the current and emerging threats from active shooters in your industry and location and identifies your security weaknesses and vulnerabilities to an active shooter assault.

3.     Active Shooter Simulation Training

a.     4-hour, on-site Session

b.     Full participation in live, action-driven simulated scenarios with props

c.     Beyond Run-Hide-Fight – the “how” of survival

d.     EMT techniques such as bleeding control and wound care.

e.     Location-specific Emergency Response Plan (ERP)

f.      Certificate of Training for both Individuals and the Organization

I can’t stress enough how important it is to give your employees a fighting chance to survive by training them in what to do. You wouldn’t consider by-passing fire drills yet your business is 18 times more likely to experience workplace violence than a fire. In closing, I highly recommend getting information about training services. This program will not only save lives and minimize damages but will also provide you with certification that will verify your proactive action to protect your employees per OSHA’s Duty of Care regulations.

I’ve chosen to associate myself with ProDefense USA because I believe in the value of the work they do.

Sincerely,

Ron Aledo