September 21, 2024
Special Edition
STOP KILLING SCHOOL KIDS
By: Marvin L. Covault,
Lt Gen US Army retired,
September 19, 2024

BACKGROUND:
The Columbine High School massacre occurred on April 20, 1999. Seems like yesterday. According to Post Data, there have been 417 school shootings since Columbine which reportedly exposed over 383,000 students to school shooter violence and trauma.

So, you ask, what have we learned in the past 25 years about school shootings? Here are some thoughts:
First, we have little or no ongoing deterrence in most school security programs.

Two, the majority of schools rely almost entirely on local law enforcement to respond.

Three, this “911 outside-in” concept of operations will inevitably result in first responders arriving on the scene in some number of minutes after it is determined a shooter is on campus.

Four, in most cases, casualties from the shooter have occurred before first responders arrive.

Five, multiple law enforcement organizations will show up: police, Sheriff’s deputies, highway patrol, fire department, etc. Result, no one is in charge. First responders may not be familiar with the area of operations. What does “left-wing third floor of building B” mean to the first on-scene arrivals? Who is going to brief the arriving first responders?

I refer you to the Uvalde, TX massacre on 24 May 2022 at the Robb Elementary School. There were 376 responders and no one in charge. A 600-page report revealed that the shooter was locked in a classroom with 9-and 10-year-old children for 37 minutes. Armed law enforcement officers were outside the classroom waiting for a key to unlock the door while the shooter was executing 19 children and 2 teachers. And how many similar shooter incidents have there been with the same after-action reporting of delays and incompetence since Uvalde?

I rest my case as I outline what needs to change.

THESIS:
The 61 million parents of school-age children and the 82,423 School Board members are all hoping there will not be a shooting in their school. When there is a shooting, and there will be a next time, everyone hopes the first responders will get there quickly. Everyone is also hoping there will not be casualties.

News flash…….” Hope “is not a process!!

All school administrators have the primary responsibility of providing a safe and secure environment for learning. School-age parents are primarily responsible for demanding safety as the first priority in their schools.

Wake up, America. While well intended, the “911 outside-to-inside in minutes” concept of operations has not worked for the past 25 years and will not work for the next 25.

All of this begs the question: Is it possible to have an “inside-to-outside security force concept” that can and will respond to a shooter incident in seconds? Yes, it is within the art of the possible, and I can recommend that concept to all 129,000 schools nationwide.

WHERE TO BEGIN WHEN BUILDING A NEW CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS:
The concept can take on a life of its own by working from three simple questions.
First, what are the tasks to be performed?
Second, what are the conditions in the area of operations?
Third, what are the standards of performance that will result in success?

Tasks/conditions/standards are a proven starting point for solving complex, multifaceted operations involving people as operators.

Tasks: Have in place a continuous, internal, all-encompassing, highly trained security force capable of reacting in seconds to any potential or actual on-campus shooter. From this, there will be lists of individual and leadership tasks for everyone involved for which they must sustain proficiency.

Conditions: The conditions for this operation are consistent and relatively unchanging. It is a daylight operation, with large, perhaps multiple-floor buildings with many hallways. It is also a target-rich environment with at least hundreds, if not a few thousand students, faculty, and staff on site every school day.

Standards: An organization without standards is a failed organization. With a concept based on proactive response in seconds, this will then dictate the levels of training to ensure the overall objectives are met every time.

THE DOWNSIDE OF AN INSIDE-OUT SECURITY OPERATION:
The thought of having armed faculty on site every school day does not have a good feel. However, it is possible to develop a security force operation wherein a weapon will never be visible until the moment it becomes necessary to engage a shooter.

THE INTERNAL ON-SITE SECURITY FORCE:
The size will be dictated by the size of the building, the number of entrances, and the number of students.

For this scenario, let’s say the force consists of a leader and eight operators. The leader should be a person of authority on the staff every school day. The best solution is to assign security operations to the Vice Principal as his/her highest priority responsibility.

The operators should all be volunteers for this additional duty and work in two-person teams. The team approach increases my confidence that my teammate always has my back, and an operator will feel more confident about using deadly force without hesitation when it is called for.

Team schedules must be constantly coordinated so that at least one member is in the schoolhouse while classes are in session.

Security force members will train to be as comfortable with their weapons as they are with their toothbrushes.

Seek training assistance and training facilities from the County Sheriff and/or the local Chief of Police.

All potential team members in training will undergo a psych evaluation. The purpose is to determine if the operator has, under certain circumstances, the will to inflict deadly force on a shooter.

OPTIMIZE THE ENTIRE AREA OF OPERATIONS:
Some examples:
· Make it user-friendly, optimize relevant technology, and limit the number of entrances, preferably one with metal detectors.

· In compliance with fire safety regulations, all fire exits should be covered by a continuous-feed camera and an alarm system that continuously reports to the operations center whenever a door is opened.

· For operational reasons, name every potential entrance with a letter designation; door “A” will be Entrance Alfa or Bravo, Charlie, etc.

· All of the technology will flow to the Operations Center. In the best case, the center will be the Vice Principal’s office or adjoining room. Additional long-range cameras will continuously provide a view of the parking areas.

· Again, for operational clarity, every hallway should be named. For example, use states. Hallway Iowa, Colorado, etc. For example, “Entrance Charlie just breached, shooter is moving down Nebraska towards the intersection with Minnesota.”

· A “shooter alarm” should be on the wall with every fire alarm, both covered by a camera.

COMMUNICATIONS DISCIPLINE:
Every security team member and leader will be equipped with a small radio that is turned on and worn on their body every minute they are on campus.

Each day will begin with a communications check of every radio with the ops center. There will be absolutely zero chatter on the radios. The only time there is a transmission is to activate the teams and cause them to immediately deploy to their first designated station, according to the standard number of seconds.

EQUIPPING SECURITY OPERATORS:
Every team member will have a secure, immovable “box” at their place of work, be it a classroom or office. It will have a digital panel that opens in a couple of seconds with a 3-digit code known only to the operator.

Every box will hold a pistol, loaded with a round chambered and the safety on. There will also be a second loaded magazine. Additionally, there will be a lanyard to put around their neck with a master key to open every door in the building. Why the key? Remember the law enforcement personnel outside a classroom in Uvalde waiting for a key to unlock the door and thereafter engaging the shooter.

Hanging next to the box will be a red armored vest with “SECURITY” in big letters on the front and back. The vest will have a special pocket for the extra, fully loaded magazine.

The point of explaining the above is that within a few seconds after a breach has occurred, the ops center will know it, and seconds later, phone calls go out simultaneously to every operator. When the operators’ phones go off, they immediately get to their vests, open the box, and go out the door, armed and deploying to their first position, perhaps within 10-15 seconds.

AN EXAMPLE SCENARIO:
An alarm goes off in the ops center. The Vice Principal (call sign, Security 2) sees an open door from the reporting camera at fire exit Charlie and yells into the phone, “Breach, breach at fire exit Charlie, I say again, breach at fire exit Charlie.”

Through multiple training scenarios, Team 2 knows they are closest to fire exit Charlie and will deploy directly to that location. All teams will deploy to a location associated with a breach at exit Charlie. All teams will report to the ops center via phone.

“Team 4 out the door.” Each team reports “out the door” and reports again at their assigned destination.

About now, the Vice Principal, Security 2, has sounded the campus-wide alarm for a possible shooter on site. All teachers and staff immediately lock their doors, and everyone is on the floor face down.

Security 2 also calls 911 to report a possible shooter and tells the operator to stay on the line for in-process reports. “Fire exit breached; all operators are armed and deploying with red vests.”

“This is team 2 at Charlie, door open no one in sight.” If a shooter enters from Charlie, he/she will most likely be moving down the Alabama hallway. So, under the Charlie scenario, Team 4 knows they are to deploy to Alabama.

“This is Team 4. One male in Alabama headed for Texas has a long gun.”

Security 2 to 911 operator. “Shooter sighted inside armed with a long gun.”

Each of the Security Teams is deployed to a designated area associated with a Charlie breach. Similar but different scenarios exist for breaches at Exit Alfa, Bravo, Delta, Echo, etc.

The Security Teams will be trained for every scenario and know where to go without radio conversation. Based on those exercises, the Security Leader will know within about 5 seconds what time every team will be in place. THAT’S WHAT TRAINING TO ESTABLISHED STANDARDS IS ALL ABOUT, and it is not rocket science. It’s common sense.

The Principal (call sign Security 1) also has a radio and monitors all the action. He/she is the logical one to get outside to meet and brief the arriving first responders so they can assist, but also so they do not get in the way.

Back to the action:
“This is team 4. The shooter has seen us and is running to evade or escape. He will be at Team 3’s location in seconds.

“This is Team 3, Roger all, ambush set, IPRF (in position ready to fire), OUT.” The “OUT” signals to everyone that radio silence is now in effect, and the next transmission will be from Team 3.

“This is Team 3, shooter down, alive, need medics.”

When shots were fired, all teams abandoned their current locations and moved toward the sound of gunfire to assist if necessary.

Security 2 reports this to the 911 operator, who keeps the deploying first responders in the loop.

“This is Security 1. I just wanted to inform you that first responders are on their way. Team 3, please provide your location and shooter status.”

“Team 3 is located at the end of Montana. Shooter with leg injuries, bleeding heavily, applying pressure.”

“This is Security 1; I will escort medics to your location ASAP.”

Security 2 informs the 911 operator that the shooter is wounded and in custody.

“Security 2, this is Security 1, give the all-clear over the campus intercom. Tell all personnel to remain in their locked rooms until told to do otherwise. Also, provide this public address to 911 for immediate release……..A shooter at Smith Elementary is in custody as of 0942 this morning. The shooter did not have contact with any students. No one was injured. All classes have been canceled for the day. Students will be released at 11 o’clock. Students not having transportation will be kept in the dining hall.”

“Security 2 This is Security 1; all security team members are to report to the end of Montana immediately to debrief law enforcement when they arrive. The entire security team will attend the After Action Review (AAR) in the conference room at 1230.”

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS:
Timely situational awareness is critical in any operation; the larger the organization, the more difficult it becomes. However, in this case, with a limited number of security personnel and all of them hearing every phone transmission in real-time, situational awareness becomes positive as long as strict communication discipline is maintained.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT (ROE):
Everyone associated with security must know the ROE and train them.

First, the first rule of ROE is the right of self-defense.

Second, if a shooter is obviously armed, preemptive fire is allowed.

Third, there are two levels of attack: to disable the shooter or use deadly force.

If the shooter has not raised his weapon to fire, consider incapacitating him/her by firing rapidly below the waste. If the shooter gives any indication that they are about to fire, aim for the center of mass with deadly force.

In the above scenario, Team 3 observed the shooter moving rapidly towards an exit with his rifle pointed down. Team 3 opened up rapidly, firing their semi-automatic pistols at the shooter, waste down to incapacitate him.

TRAIN THE STUDENTS AND FACULTY:
Hold periodic mandatory assemblies for everyone on campus. Go over the concept. Everyone must know to lock their door and get on the floor. Everyone will expect to hear rapid movement by the Security Teams in the hallways. Everyone will know there is a possibility of hearing shots fired. Everyone knows they will remain in place until they get an “all clear” from the principal only on the campus-wide speakers.

Drill into the heads of everyone at the assembly that it is essential that, IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, DO SOMETHING. IF YOU HEAR SOMETHING, DO SOMETHING. Tell them exactly what to do. Make the points by providing some examples. For example, have a student walk across the stage with a jacket on, and it appears that the butt of a pistol can be seen outside the pocket. Tell them that if they see a gun of any kind anywhere on campus and the person is not wearing a red security vest, they have permission to pull the nearest alarm located in the hallways.

Explain that the words “gun,” “rifle,” and “pistol” are absolutely forbidden on campus even if used in jest.

TRAIN THE STAFF AND FACULTY:
Ensure they know and understand the operations plan in detail and are 100% committed to it. If they are not, they must do something else.

Emphasize that if students see or hear something, they will likely tell their teacher. Tell the staff and faculty what they are to do immediately.

TRAIN THE PARENTS:
Hold a series of Parent Teacher Association evening meetings at the school early in the school year, as many as necessary, to ensure that everyone has had an opportunity to attend.

Explain the “Inside to out in seconds” concept in detail, emphasizing that the “911 outside to inside in minutes” will not keep your children safe. Explain the Uvalde, TX mess ending with 17 small children killed and hundreds more traumatized.

There undoubtedly will be some loud-mouth parents preaching to the audience that the school has no right to have armed teachers. Plan on it and be prepared to deal with it.

UNANNOUNCED EXERCISES:
Only one person will know there will be an unannounced exercise some morning. The Principal will call the Sheriff and Chief of Police at 0930 on a school day and tell them that he/she will begin the exercise in a few seconds.

The Principal gets on the campus intercom and says:
“This is an exercise, this is an exercise. There has just been an exercise breach at Exit Charlie. I repeat, this is only an exercise, but everyone is to take action as if it were real.”
Then the stopwatches come out. The Vice Principal calls the operators on the phone, activates the campus-wide alarm, and calls 911, emphasizing that it is an exercise only.

When it is concluded, all the times the operators checked in on their phones:
“Team 3 out the door,” “Team 4 at first location,” etc.

When it is over, from the ops center, calculate the number of seconds it took for every team to call in their reports and actions.

CONDUCT THE AAR IMMEDIATELY AFTER SCHOOL:
An After-Action Review is a tool developed by the U.S. Army and advertised by Harvard Business School as a valued technique to get crucial immediate feedback from any group or organization-wide activity that can be fed back into improvements. The “R” in AAR does not stand for “report”. A report can take days to months to prepare and may be keyed to finding fault and placing blame. While the AAR keys on individual accountability and immediate fixes.

An AAR is a gathering of the key players to answer three questions:
One, what did we do well? In this security exercise, the answers would depend on the timing of all the communications and deployments.

Two, what could we have done better? Team 3 is new and missed the standard time of getting out the door. Team 2 initially deployed to the wrong destination. The Sheriff’s deputies didn’t arrive for 20 minutes after the 911 call, etc.

Three, how do we institutionalize the fixes? On Saturday morning, we will go through all the breach scenarios again to improve timing and communications, etc.

An AAR is not a blame game. Its success is based on honest accountability from every leader and player.

Hundreds of AARs take place throughout the U.S. Army every day.

A SALARIED SECURITY OFFICER ON CAMPUS:
They could play a role: Be visible at the main entrance every morning to monitor the metal detector. Conduct the morning radio communications check. Physically visit every entry point to ensure it is locked and alarms and cameras are functioning. Occupy the operations center when the Vice Principal is absent. Stand in for a missing security team member.

CONCLUSIONS:
Many schools nationwide have a retired law enforcement officer on salary and have declared themselves “secure.” They are not secure. One person cannot be in more than one place at a time to successfully deal with a security breach. Security will result from a highly trained and capable multi-person security force.

Local law enforcement first responders can never match the reaction times of an internal security force present every minute of every school day.

Once the equipment is in place, this is not an expensive operation by a group of faculty volunteers.

This proactive inside-out-in-seconds concept of operations can deter potential shooters. Credible deterrence is a powerful and effective force.

BOTTOM LINE:
Lessons that should have been learned at Columbine 25 years ago have never replaced the 911 outside-in concept. We can, and we have to do better to stop killing kids in our schools.

This is not a federal or state government issue. God help us if the Departments of Education get involved with thousands of bureaucrats and reams of regulations to guide us. This is a local issue that can and should be solved locally. Just do it.

There is an old saying that sort of defines what is going on with respect to school security: “If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.” What we “got” is more dead kids. There is one more that is appropriate when dealing with an organization (such as a school district): “Change or die.” In this case, literally more kids will die if we don’t change.

Note to subscribers: If you agree with this concept, please send a copy to your local Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools for their consideration.

Marvin L. Covault, Lt Gen US Army, retired, is the author of two books, Vision to Execution and Fix the Systems, Transform America, as well as the author of a blog, WeThePeopleSpeaking.com

If you do not take an interest
in the affairs of your government,
then you are doomed to live under
the rule of fools.
Plato