Today the Office of Security ran a "lockdown" drill in the Commerce building. There was an announcement that came through all of the telephone speakers instructing employees to assume lockdown procedures. The announcement commanded all employees to clear the hallways, get into an office and lock their doors. Aside from keeping their offices locked, the lockdown procedure also requires employees to shut off all the lights including the computer monitors, and to keep away from the windows and doors. At this point the guards are supposed to be looking for the culprit. The drill is meant to simulate a similar situation of a Virginia Tech or Columbine shooter(s). Although the drill only lasted 10 minutes, I thought it was a good exercise because there were a few people strolling around the hallways not knowing what to do or where to go. I believe in a real life situation, those in the hallways would have been the first to be killed or targeted by a shooter. I hope those took an important lesson out of exercise.
This blog will cover my internship experience with the U.S. Department of Commerce.
That would be a very interesting exercise to be part of. It really is quite amazing what members of the federal government have to be prepared for.
ReplyDeleteThat's fascinating and scary to think about all at the same time. I'm glad that this is something they now consider and prepare for.
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