We're Renaming the Armed Teacher Training Program ... Introducing "FASTER"

by Jim Irvine

Last December, Buckeye Firearms Foundation made world-wide news with the introduction of our Armed Teacher Training Program. The program has now been up and running for several months, and along the way we've received some helpful feedback from educators as to how we can best communicate about the program to others in their profession.

Some are opposed to the idea of "guns in schools" or "guns with kids". The moment they see a reference to guns, they shut down and don't listen to what this program is about.

However, these same people love kids and want to keep them safe. So we need to be able to reach them to explain why our program makes sense for their schools.

That's why we are changing the name to Faculty/Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response or "FASTER."

The key element in active killer situations is time. On average, five people are being killed every minute. A delay of just 10-12 seconds will likely result in another death. At Virginia Tech, the average was eight killed per minute. It is important to note that this is only counting the deaths, and there are often many more who are injured.

The killing continues until the killer meets sufficient resistance. Sometimes it only takes a little resistance for the killer to give up and quit killing. Sometimes it takes armed response engaging the killer to stop the massacre. No matter how much resistance is required, the faster that resistance is applied, the more lives will be saved.

During an active killer event, the killer knows he has limited time until law enforcement or other armed individuals show up and stop him. The goal is to kill as many people as possible as fast as possible. They know they need to set a new record to really become famous. They will be killing as fast as they can.

Consider the following responses to active killers in your schools. For each one, decide for yourself if faster or slower is better:

• Becoming aware of a potential threat
• Locking of all external doors
• Notification to all teachers about a threat inside a school
• Lockdown and compartmentalizing of all inside rooms
• Evacuation of students/teachers to a safe area
• Call to 911 about your ongoing situation
• Answering of your phone call by emergency response personal
• Dispatch of police and ambulance to your location
• Time for law enforcement to arrive on scene
• Time for law enforcement to enter the building
• Time for law enforcement to find and neutralize the threat
• Time for law enforcement to search and secure the rest of the building
• Time for emergency medical people to enter and begin treating the injured
• Time to move the injured to a hospital or higher degree of medical care

I'm sure you'll agree that at every step along the way, FASTER is better. Lives can be saved at each point above by acting quickly. Conversely, lives can be lost at each step if there is delay in accomplishing the task at hand.

Remember, on average, people are being killed every minute. Reducing each step by just one second will likely result in one less death. Every life is important. It is not good enough to save time (lives) in a few ways, but accept delays (deaths) in others. Every child is sacred.

FASTER training is the same class we have already offered, and has been completed by 24 teachers. It is for Faculty and Administrators. It is Safety Training. It includes proper Emergency Response to an active killer. There are ways to save lives before, during, and after a shooting. Schools must be doing everything they can to save lives. They need a FASTER response. They need FASTER training.

Jim Irvine is the Buckeye Firearms Foundation President, and recipient of the NRA-ILA's 2011 "Jay M. Littlefield Volunteer of the Year Award" and the CCRKBA's 2012 "Gun Rights Defender of the Year Award."