MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, Calif. -- Marines and civilians engage in Semper Durus 2022, aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, California, the week of April 25.
Semper Durus 2022 is a large scale, regional exercise to test Marine Corps Installations’ – WEST interoperability and long range communications.
“The exercise is an Antiterrorism and Force Protection exercise designed to reinforce and strengthen our installations’ capabilities to support the operating forces, tenant commands, and families,” said Nicholas Hensley, emergency manager, Mission Assurance Division on base. “The goal of EXSD22 is to enhance regional proficiency, readiness, and capability to provide sustained, effective support while executing operations in support of I Marine Expeditionary Force, and to deter, detect, and defend against terrorist threats and attacks.”
The week long Semper Durus exercise takes place across the whole western region. However, specific to MCLB Barstow the primary locations will be our Youth Activity Center, and other locations on the base as the scenario develops.
“The MCLB Barstow Provost Marshal’s Office trained specifically within the exercise on 26 April,” Hensley said. “MCLBB will exercise PMO reaction capabilities, follow on investigative tasks, site security, and communications. Mission Assurance will exercise the base emergency energy plan, internal notification systems, Communications Computers Command Control –Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance and Incident Command Post support.”
“The Provost Marshal’s Office is responsible for law enforcement and security operations aboard MCLB Barstow,” said Maj. Maurice Taylor, Provost Marshall. “The exercise involves responding to a simulated Active Shooter situation and simultaneously increasing the Force Protection Condition for the installation.”
Major Taylor explained that the Active Shooter scenario involved a few critical steps:
- Law Enforcement response to the scene
- Initiate a shelter in place aboard the installation
- Mass Notification to all MCLB Barstow personnel
- Staging of Fire Department personnel
- Coordinated response of first responders to enable police officers to address the threat and enable fire fighters to treat injured personnel as rapidly as possible.
“The specifics of Force Protection Condition increase are not disclosable, but some impacts include recalling additional security personnel, implementing a barrier plan, and more stringent access control procedures,” Taylor said.
“One of the goals is to ensure that everyone on the base knows that we are constantly finding ways to improve base security and base resilience,” said Hensley.
An Active Shooter situation remains a prevalent concern in the nation today,” Taylor said. “Active shooter situations are unpredictable and are often over within 10 to 15 minutes.”
It is important to be mentally and physically ready to respond in case of an incident.
“Some actions to prepare now are to review your department’s Emergency Action Plan, identify a minimum of two egress points when entering a new area, identify locations to hide when directed to shelter in place, and register for available notification systems, such as AtHoc, and official base social media,” Taylor said. “Also, participate in departmental or installation exercises and training when able, and be sure to report suspicious activity to management and Law Enforcement personnel.”
If there is a shooting on base, these are actions to take during the incident to ensure survival:
- Run: Evacuate the area and leave belongings behind. Call 911 once safe to do so
- Hide: If you cannot get away safely, find a place to hide. Barricade doors, close blinds, and silence electronics
- Fight: As a last resort, identify weapons of opportunity that can be utilized to disarm the shooter
These are actions to take after law enforcement has arrived:
- Remain calm, and follow all instructions from Law Enforcement personnel
- Keep hands empty and visible
- Avoid making quick movements toward Law Enforcement personnel or holding on to them for safety
- Depart the location in the direction from which Law Enforcement personnel are approaching (unless directed otherwise)
- Consult medical personnel for evaluation. Not all injuries are immediately visible
- Consider utilization professional resources to cope with long term effects
“The Provost Marshal’s Office is committed to providing a safe and secure environment. Please ensure the widest dissemination of this information and contact the Provost Marshal’s Office with any questions or concerns,” said Taylor.
For those unfamiliar with AtHoc, it is a mass notification system that provides Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow personnel with an effective and reliable mass warning and notification system that can warn affected personnel during a crisis event or when there is a change in base operating status.
“AtHoc also aids in gaining accountability for personnel during a crisis,” said Maj. Aaron Davis, Operations officer for the base. “During emergencies, it is critical to be able to quickly and accurately inform MCLBB personnel in real-time, notify them of threats, and provide them with instructions. To effectively and quickly reach a mass audience or targeted individuals or groups, the notification system relies on the contact information provided by users when registering into AtHoc.”
The AtHoc system provides the following:
- Enhances your safety and empowers you to react in times of crisis
- Ensures that real-time alerts provide information to you and your family on what to do and where to go in an emergency
- Allows you to find out about base closures due to weather or an emergency, before you show up
- Permits you to be notified when it is clear/safe to return to the installation
- Depending on the situation, the system continues sending notifications to the various mediums a user has selected until it can confirm receipt of the message
“MCLB Barstow command strongly recommends that users register all devices and methods
that they would prefer to receive emergency information via text messaging on personal cell phones, work and personal emails, home and work telephone numbers,” Davis said. “IFor Apple and Android devices, you can also sign up for an AtHoc Mobile Notifier. This is the best method for receiving notifications and works even when text messages do not. Each user can have the Mobile Notifier on up to five devices. Departments without a usmc.mil email address, such as dla.mil, mccs.org, are encouraged to coordinate their employees’ enrollment with Mission Assurance by emailing mclbb_ma@usmc.mil.”
Keep these numbers handy, in case of an emergency:
- Active Emergency: 911 (Remember that this will route to California Highway Patrol dispatch off base, and they will need to get a very specific location from you if you are on a cellular phone.
- Non-Emergency (24/7) for Base Dispatch: 760-577-6666
- Operations Officer (PMO): 760-577-6144
- Deputy Chief of Police: 760-577-6409
- Provost Marshal: 760-577-6678
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