Active Shooter Scenario Gauges Quality of Force Protection
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APRIL 30, 2015 1 THE APRIL 30, 2015 VOL. 72, NO. 16 ® UTY ONOR OUNTRY OINTER IEW D , H , C PSERVING THE U.S. MILITARY ACADEMY AND THE COMMUNITY V OF WEST POINT Lighting the ® Torch Athlete Quincy Ferguson lights of the Olympic torch beginning the 41st annual Hudson Valley Region Spring Special Olympics April 25 at Shea Stadium. Roughly 750 athletes from Orange, Rockland, Sullivan, Dutchess, Westchester and Ulster counties participated in the games and more than 1,000 cadet and community volunteers provided help in running the event. See story and photos on page 4. PHOTO BY KATHY EASTWOOD/PV 2 APRIL 30, 2015 NEWS & FEATURES POINTER VIEW Sharing the Road: Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month Submitted by Garrison Safety Office With the warmer spring weather arriving, motorcyclists, because it can lead to a decrease could be someone you know; the number of motorcycles on the roads in motorcycle-vehicle accidents. • Always allow a motorcyclist the full lane In recognition of May as Motorcycle will increase significantly. This will require Safety is a joint responsibility between width—never try to share a lane; Safety Awareness Month, the Garrison Safety increased alertness and awareness on the part motorists and motorcyclists. Motorcyclists are • Perform a regular visual check for Office reminds motorists and motorcyclists of motorists. about 26 times more likely to die in a crash than motorcycles by checking mirrors and blind alike to “share the road” conscientiously and Public awareness of motorcycle safety passenger vehicle occupants on a per vehicle spots before entering or exiting a lane of traffic, courteously. benefits everyone on the roadway, not just mile basis, so whether you are driving a car, and at intersections; truck or bus, drivers should always be on the • Always signal your intentions before lookout for motorcyclists. changing lanes or merging with traffic; Drivers must be aware that a motorcycle, • Don’t be fooled by a flashing turn signal as one of the smallest vehicles on the road, can on a mo torcycle—motorcycle signals are often NEWS NOTES be ‘hiding’ in one of your blind spots. Always not self-canceling and riders sometimes forget check blind spots, use mirrors and signal before to turn them off. Wait to be sure the motorcycle changing lanes or making turns. is going to turn before you proceed; Motorcyclists have responsibilities, too. • Allow more following distance—three Riders should obey all traffic laws and be or four sec onds—when behind a motorcycle properly licensed, alert to other drivers, to give the motorcyclist time to maneuver conspicuous at all times, obey posted speed around obstacles in the roadway, or stop in an limits, never ride impaired or distracted, and emer gency; always wear a Department of Transportation • Never drive distracted. compliant helmet and other protective gear. Motorcyclists can increase their own safety This safety advice is particularly timely as by: statistics from the National Highway Traffic • Wearing a DOT compliant helmet; Safety Administration reveal an increase in • Using turn signals for every turn or lane motorcycle fatalities in recent years: in 2012, change, even if the rider thinks no one will 4,927 motorcyclists were killed in traffic see it; crashes, a continued increase from 2011 when • Signaling intentions by combining hand 4,630 motorcyclists lost their lives. signals and turn signals to draw more attention Motorcycle fatalities accounted for 15 to themselves; percent of total highway deaths for the year • Wearing brightly colored protective gear, despite motorcycle registrations representing and using reflective tape and stickers to increase only about 3 percent of all vehicles in the conspicuity; United States. • Positioning themselves in the lane where The following tips are offered for drivers to they will be most visible to other drivers; help keep motorcyclists safe on our roadways: • Never riding while impaired. Maj. Richard E. Hull receives the Soldier's Medal April 23 from Maj. • Remember, a motorcycle is a vehicle with The message to all drivers and motorcyclists Gen. Thomas S. Vandal, commanding general of the 2nd Infantry all of the rights and privileges of any other is a simple one—share in the responsibility of Division in South Korea, for actions in September 2014 in Nantucket, motor vehicle. The person under that helmet keeping all road users safe. Massachusetts, when he and a friend risked their personal safety in aiding in the rescue of five people who had been ejected from a private boat. He took control of the damaged boat, preventing it from sinking until the U.S. Coast Guard arrived on the scene. Hull is a 2002 U.S. Military Academy graduate. PHOTO BY PAK CHIN U Service Academy Design Challenge—A USMA team competing in the Service Academy Design Challenge won this year’s competition April 17, beating both Navy and Air Force. This is the first time in the five years of the competition that USMA won. The competition was sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory. The USMA Service Academy Design Challenge team defeated great cadet teams from both Air Force and Navy in a competition at the Natick Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Massachusetts. Cadets Ioannis Wallingford and Zachary Lee were the team leaders. Other members of the team include cadets Jason Rho, Sarah Lowy, Erin Kelly, Zachary Glass, Tyler Sowell, John Beck, Brendan McKinley and Joseph Samuels. The team designed a Soldier personal cooling system that actively cooled a Soldier in full gear during a one-hour treadmill march in 95-degree, 45 percent relative humidity conditions, lowering their core body temperature by over 0.3 degrees. The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement of the products or services advertised by the U.S. Army or the Times Herald-Record. Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use, POINTER VIEW ® 40 Mulberry Street, Middletown, NY 10940 or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, The Army civilian enterprise newspaper, the Pointer View, is an authorized publication for members To subscribe to the Pointer View or physical handicap, political affiliation, or any other nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user, or patron. of the Department of Defense. Contents of the Pointer View are not necessarily the official views of, or if you have delivery problems, call 845-346-3214. endorsed by, the U.S. Government, the Department of the Army or West Point. A confirmed violation or rejection of this policy of equal opportunity by an advertiser The Pointer View ® is an unofficial publication authorized by AR 360-1. The editorial content of the will result in the refusal to print advertising from that source. Pointer View is the responsibility of the West Point Public Affairs Office, Bldg. 600, West Point, New York Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen, Jr. Eric S. Bartelt 10996, (845) 938-2015. Superintendent PV Managing Editor, 938-2015 The Pointer View is printed weekly by the Times Herald-Record, a private firm in no way connected Lt. Col. Webster Wright Kathy Eastwood with the Department of the Army, under exclusive contract with West Point. The Times Herald-Record is PV Staff Writer, 938-3684 responsible for all commercial advertising. Public Affairs Officer POINTER VIEW IN FOCUS: ACTIVE SHOOTER APRIL 30, 2015 3 Active Shooter scenario gauges quality of force protection Story and photos by Kathy Eastwood notification and a complete lockdown of West Staff Writer Point. Teams of State Police, Military Police and others surrounded the buildings searching Nearly three-quarters of the Corps of Cadets, for active shooters and ensuring lockdown community members, Soldiers from Fort Drum, procedures were in place within the community. New York State Police and emergency vehicles “The exercise is visual, we have the from the surrounding community participated capability to direct action, but what you see is in an active shooter scenario of West Point’s what you get,” Hennen said. Antiterrorism Exercise April 23 in Central Area The purpose of the active shooter scenario and at the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory is to assess West Point’s AT/FP plans and School. procedures in a realistic and safe operating In a scenario mimicking real life, a Vehicle environment like how well everyone responds, Borne Improvised Explosive Device with how communications are set up and identify Chlorine, like that used against American areas of improvement. Soldiers in Iraq in 2007, was used at USMAPS “When I first heard the shots (in Thayer touching off two active shooters within the Hall), it took less than 10 minutes to respond,” cadet areas. Sgt. 1st Class William Vargas, of Fort Drum, During classes at Thayer Hall, two active said. “Every military base trains like this and shooters arrived in the building shooting and it doesn’t matter how many times we practice, taking hostages. Someone yelled “active shooter you never know what the active shooter will in the hallway” prompting people to shelter in be doing.” place, shutting doors, turning lights off and In the aftermath, hostages were rounded erecting blockades. up safely and active shooters walked out of the Various emergency responders from Saint building with hands in the air, protection forces Luke’s/Cornwall Hospital, Westchester County checked every building, the Federal Bureau and Orange Regional Medical Center in of Investigation and Criminal Investigation Middletown were some of the nearly 40 role Division collected evidence before the “all players participating in the active shooter clear” notifications were sent out. scenario. The active shooters caused fatal In an after action summary, it was found casualties and initiated a hostage situation. the active shooter scenario went well overall, Desktop alerts went out to all activities at however, there were some areas in need of West Point with instructions that all personnel improvement.