Program - ALiCE Active Intruder Training
Bret Bandick has a unique, multi-disciplinary background spanning over 25 years in corporate security, law enforcement, fire service, and public safety. He is currently the District Security Manager for Palomar Health; prior to this, Bret worked for the UCSD Health System as a Security Training Manager. He served 15 years with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. As a Sheriff’s Sergeant, he worked in several of the counties maximum security detentions facilities and was active in emergency preparedness and response. Additionally, he spent time as the Detentions Training Unit Director running the Detention and Court Services academies and the In-Service training program for the Detentions Bureau.
Although retired from active duty; Bret still serves the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department as a volunteer member of the Search and Rescue Unit. Additionally, Bret’s past public safety service includes: service as a volunteer firefighter/EMT and work as a disaster preparedness and fire training instructor. He is also recognized by the California, Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS) as an instructor; and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social and Criminal Justice. Bret has been an instructor for the ALiCE Training Institute for over 4 years. During this time he has trained hundreds of individuals working in law enforcement, business, education, healthcare, and churches, in active intruder survival skills.
The goal of ALiCE training is to help civilians learn what they can and should do to increase their chance of survival in an “Active Shooting” incident. In most cases, mass shooting incidents are over by the time police or other authorities arrive; from the first awareness of someone shooting to the time an officer arrives is typically 3 – 5 minutes. Often these incidents are over in 2 – 3 minutes. ALiCE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Escape) teaches civilians how to develop a strategy that gives them options.
An active shooter or intruder is a person who causes immediate death or serious bodily injury to those around them. Their targets are normally an individual person, group or institution. Although the intruders have intended victims, they will shoot at any target. In most cases, their goal is to inflict as much death and damage as they can before law enforcement arrives. Most of these attackers are suicidal and plan on dying, so negotiations with them are futile. Passive and static targets become easy victims. Not much skill is required to pull a trigger at point blank range and hit an un-moving target.
As a civilian, there are many things we can do in the minutes that count. First and foremost, start by being aware of your surroundings: Know where the exits are, who belongs, who’s behaving in an unusual way. If you are in an active shooting situation, give yourself and others ‘permission’ to act. Disrupting the intruder’s plans can save many lives, since firing a weapon does take some concentration.
The A.L.I.C.E Concept
Alert – Inform: Inform Law Enforcement, Administration AND everyone else, u.se all technology available. This communication will keep the killer off balance, and provides real-time event information to and from those in the Danger Zone.
Lockdown: A great way to start and we all know the concept, but be active, not passive. Barricade – do everything to deny entry: Use furniture, machines, beds to block doors and impede progress in rooms or hallways. Use everyday items to secure doors, like flip flops, carbineers, rope, belts, shoe strings. When you are able to safely Evacuate move away from where the intruder is.
Counter is the most dangerous strategy, so it is the last resort. However, in this situation, you can actively diminish the killer’s ability to shoot accurately by distracting and confusing him or her. Each shot takes four steps Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. Interrupting this ‘OODA loop’ delays each shot. Throwing objects, shouting, putting up barriers are all ways to interrupt the OODA loop. This is why TRAINED Police miss 75 – 80% of the time – they have someone shooting back, the target is moving, or they are moving. An untrained killer can be slowed down by this. Finally, control and hold the suspect. A shooter is only focused on what is in front of him/her. This gives groups of people an opportunity to approach from their blind side, which also has the added benefit of disrupting their OODA loop.
ALiCE training is intense and thorough, so this program was just an introduction. Contact Bret or AliceTraining.com to schedule the full training program for your business.