Military

Only a test: JBER warns of 'active shooter' training exercise Thursday

Anchorage residents on or near Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson may hear sirens and loudspeaker announcements during a base-wide emergency response training on Thursday, base officials said.

Between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday, JBER will be conducting a base-wide "active shooter" scenario, JBER spokesperson Jim Hart wrote.

An active shooter is someone moving through the area with a firearm, "actively seeking targets," another JBER spokesperson, Chris McCann, wrote in an earlier release.

Loudspeaker announcements and sirens may be heard by the public outside of the base throughout the day. Hart said JBER usually receives calls from residents in the Muldoon area who can hear the sirens.

Residents living and working on base may experience minor delays at storefront facilities such as the housing office, Hart said, or any office with a customer service component. The gates to JBER will be closed for less than five minutes, he wrote.

The exercise is intended to train personnel and evaluate procedures in the event of a real emergency.

Laurel Andrews

Laurel Andrews was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch News and Alaska Dispatch. She left the ADN in October 2018.

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