ALICE Instructor

Barricade technique exercise during lockdown drill

On June 11-12, 2019, Ansonia Local Schools sent me to attend ALICE training so I could bring it back and teach it to school staff there when I was their full time School Resource Officer.  ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate.  This doesn’t mean that you will do all of these during an active killer attack, but these are your options.  A good plan contains nearly all of them. 

Obviously, my personal leanings are businesses, schools, churches, etc. not only allow their staff to carry firearms, but see that they receive the proper training.  Introducing a firearm into a crowded, chaotic event is tricky this is why training is so important.  Some businesses, churches and schools don’t want to risk the liability attached with going armed, so they look for options that doesn’t involve an armed response.  I believe that the ALICE program is perfect for those who feel as if they themselves could not act appropriate via an armed response.  This at least, gives alternatives when going the unarmed route.

Instructor Antonio “Tony” Castillo instructed the instructor course.  Tony is a retired police officer with experience as a supervisor, school resource officer and training officer for a municipality in the state of Ohio.  Tony kept the students active and there was little down time, but not so fast paced that someone completely new to the concepts he was teaching would feel overwhelmed. 

I noted some facts that I have not heard before.  One of those is that approximately 60% of active killings occur at places of work.  We hear of such incidents at schools and churches more often due to media coverage favoring covering these events in sensitive places.  We discussed some active killer events that have occurred right here in the state of Ohio. 

Good tips were plentiful.  Obviously, description and locations are the most important information you can give emergency responders during the inform step.  Some advice came in the form of evacuation tips.  I thought it was an excellent idea for schools to partner with each other and in the event of an emergency requiring max evacuation.   Buses from other schools can arrive to pick up kids and reunite them with their guardians.  I think this idea is worth going to your local school board meeting and bringing up. 

Day one concluded with Tony conducting various scenarios and various responses to them to show us what was most effective for each given situation.  Depending on the situation, locking down, evading or countering can all be great solutions.  In others, picking the wrong solution spells disaster.

Day two consisted of more information followed by student teach backs and student scenarios.  Tony told us that it realistically takes 1.29 seconds to process and react to a stimulus.  This is a good amount of time in all actuality.  We also discussed John Boyd’s OODA process which was created after the Korean Conflict but before Vietnam.  One should spend a great deal of time training focused on the orient phase so we can respond quicker to any situation.  Tony also discussed how distractions poised on active killers can cause them to miss their shots. 

We concluded day two with all the instructor candidates being broken down into five groups and given a scenario to create that either involved traditional lockdown, fast evacuation, barricading or evading, counter attack or ambush.  The other groups would then respond to the scenario created by each group to see how effective the response was.  Our group was the ambush group in which we were highly effective at overpowering the killer so long as we could overwhelm them as they entered a doorway or tight spaces.  All students passed the written test at the end of the day and were given instructions on how to order ALICE material and become a registered ALICE Instructor.

Overall, the two days spent at this course turned out to be more enjoyable and educational then what I had expected.  This is a great program and plan for the sheepish businesses, schools, and churches that don’t recognize the true dangers we face in society today.  If you or your employer is interested in this training, contact me at kyle.yount@surprisebreak.com and I will give your contact person a quote based on their particular needs.