
Sgt. 1st Class Jerri Daniels, left, provost sergeant at U.S. Army Garrison Benelux - Brussels, tests to ensure a classroom door is locked.
USAG Benelux, Zaventem team up to keep school safe
Story and photos by Bryan Gatchell, USAG Benelux Public Affairs
ZAVENTEM, Belgium – Two teams each comprised of military police Soldiers, local host nation law enforcement, working dogs and evaluators combed the hallways of Brussels American School during an emergency response exercise Feb. 16 at Sterrebeek Annex in Zaventem, Belgium.
The purpose of the exercise was to evaluate how personnel from U.S. Army Garrison Benelux, the school and local law enforcement would respond in the event of an active shooter at the school.
Once the call was made as part of the exercise, teachers throughout the school closed and locked classroom doors, the military police Soldiers called in to the Sterrebeek Annex gate guards to shut and lock the gates, the other facilities at the annex closed and locked down, and military police Soldiers from USAG Benelux – Brussels arrived at the annex as soon as they received the call.
Once the real all-clear was given across campus, school life resumed, and the emergency response group went about their after-action review.
Here the work shifted from practice to discussion, parsing the risks of keeping master keys in different locations, which drill procedures would best prepare faculty, whether the new school facilities will require an alteration to procedure and more.
Maj. Denard Honeysuckle, the provost marshal at USAG Benelux – Brussels, felt the training was important as it helped elucidate certain questions:
“How do we interoperate with each other to secure the faculty and the students at BAS?” asked Honeysuckle. “And really, how do we facilitate the Belgians securing our schools?”
“There’s always been a good cooperation between us,” said Nollens. “We have our procedures, Major Honeysuckle has his procedures. But we talk to each other and we try to find a way. And for me that works very well.
“Practice keeps people sharp and points out weaknesses if there are weaknesses in a certain way of reacting,” Nollens continued. “(But) we share a common goal, and that is to protect the people.”
For further photos from this event, visit the Flickr album here.