"It" Can Happen Here: Drilling Fear Into School Kids
Submitted by MichaelVail on Wed, 04/04/2007 - 1:25am.
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11ALIVE
Posted: Apr 4, 2007
No longer can any police chief, any school official, any mayor, anywhere in America, think that "it" can't happen there.
After Columbine, the Amish schoolhouse shooting, and, of course 9/11, everyone knows that "it" can.
That's why emergency personnel from almost a dozen jurisdictions were at a school just outside Calhoun, Ga. on Monday.
The day began normally -- quietly -- at Sonoraville High School outside Calhoun. But it was not quiet for long.
Terrorists have entered the school. They release suspected hazardous materials. They have weapons. They have explosives.
It's a mess, but that is exactly what the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) wants. GEMA has put together a terrorist scenario inside Sonoraville High.
The emergency scenario was unfolding pretty much according to script and then somebody threw in a couple of monkey wrenches: First somebody took a hostage -- that wasn't supposed to happen -- and then at the school across the way, a bomb scare -- that wasn't supposed to happen either.
And of course, that's exactly what the organizers wanted -- the unexpected.
"We try to push it to that point, where things will go wrong; things that we did not anticipate, so that we learn from that," said Major General Terry Nesbitt of Georgia Homeland Security. "We're able to incorporate that into our plans and be more ready the next time."
One of the problems with 9/11 and other emergencies was that the agencies involved couldn't talk with each other.
"If we're not all on the same frequency and all know what's transpiring, then we can't properly respond to it -- and at least that part of it worked relatively well for us today," said Major Clint Harris of the Gordon County Sheriff's Department.
Because of the violence in communities, in schools, there is a loss of innocence among this generation of students.
"It could happen anytime, and you never know when it's going to happen, so, at least have it on your mind sometimes," said Kasey Smith from Sonoraville High School.
And then the drill was over and the students returned to their classes, with a clear understanding they can no longer say: it can't happen here.
In addition to gauging how the units reacted, it was a chance to use some of the new equipment and training funded by the federal Department of Homeland Security.
Posted: Apr 4, 2007
No longer can any police chief, any school official, any mayor, anywhere in America, think that "it" can't happen there.
After Columbine, the Amish schoolhouse shooting, and, of course 9/11, everyone knows that "it" can.
That's why emergency personnel from almost a dozen jurisdictions were at a school just outside Calhoun, Ga. on Monday.The day began normally -- quietly -- at Sonoraville High School outside Calhoun. But it was not quiet for long.
Terrorists have entered the school. They release suspected hazardous materials. They have weapons. They have explosives.
It's a mess, but that is exactly what the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) wants. GEMA has put together a terrorist scenario inside Sonoraville High.
The emergency scenario was unfolding pretty much according to script and then somebody threw in a couple of monkey wrenches: First somebody took a hostage -- that wasn't supposed to happen -- and then at the school across the way, a bomb scare -- that wasn't supposed to happen either.
And of course, that's exactly what the organizers wanted -- the unexpected.
"We try to push it to that point, where things will go wrong; things that we did not anticipate, so that we learn from that," said Major General Terry Nesbitt of Georgia Homeland Security. "We're able to incorporate that into our plans and be more ready the next time."
One of the problems with 9/11 and other emergencies was that the agencies involved couldn't talk with each other.
"If we're not all on the same frequency and all know what's transpiring, then we can't properly respond to it -- and at least that part of it worked relatively well for us today," said Major Clint Harris of the Gordon County Sheriff's Department.
Because of the violence in communities, in schools, there is a loss of innocence among this generation of students.
"It could happen anytime, and you never know when it's going to happen, so, at least have it on your mind sometimes," said Kasey Smith from Sonoraville High School.
And then the drill was over and the students returned to their classes, with a clear understanding they can no longer say: it can't happen here.
In addition to gauging how the units reacted, it was a chance to use some of the new equipment and training funded by the federal Department of Homeland Security.
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