Arlington, VA

CNA and the National Sheriffs' Association have introduced a new toolkit that provides a step-by-step plan for exercising an active shooter incident on a military installation. The Active Shooter Exercise Kit provides instructions for law enforcement agencies on how to plan, conduct and evaluate an exercise to highlight areas for improvement in preparedness for responding to an active shooter incident on U.S. military installations.

"We saw a gap in training that helps prepare our colleagues during active shooter situations," said Tom Greene County Sheriff J. Nick Hanna. “This toolkit places our tabletop exercises under a microscope and forces emergency responders to improve weak communication and collaboration practices.”

Two scenarios are included in the exercise kit: The Festival Scenario is for military installations that host public events, and the Steady State Scenario exercises police response to an active shooter on an otherwise ordinary day. The scenarios include conduct slides, a participant handbook and a facilitator’s guide.

“Volatile incidents on U.S. military bases occur, and local law enforcement agencies are often called in to support the response,” said Dawn Thomas, co-director of CNA’s Center for Emergency Management and Operations. “The toolkit lays out six steps jurisdictions can use to conduct an exercise that may one day save lives. There is no one-size-fits-all exercise, so these materials are designed to be easily tailored to meet the needs of any agency or jurisdiction.”

For more information about the toolkit contact Liza Cordeiro at cordeirol@cna.org or Jessica Vanderpool at jessica@sheriffs.org.