Quantico Creates Violence Prevention Programs in Light Of Recent Shooting

Submitted News

QUANTICO, Va. — In light of the tragic events at Officer Candidates School on March 21 and in response to the lessons learned from a similar incident at Ft. Hood in 2009, the Marine Corps is implementing a new Violence Prevention Program in order to prevent violence on its installations and throughout the service.

Marine Corps Base Quantico, as the crossroads of the Corps, is a pioneer installation and is slated to conduct the training April 2 to April 12 as set forth in Marine Corps Order 5580.3.

The order reads: “Human factors continue to be a leading cause of mishaps and suicides. Personnel are often under stress from personal or professional factors that are not apparent to the command’s decision makers. In many instances, the individual’s risk factors were known by various leaders and peers as isolated pieces of the whole picture preventing appropriate assistance. The FPB will provide a process to combine those factors into one composite picture.”

The loss of one’s own is a hard blow for any leader, but a threat to the well-being of a unit from the inside has leaped to a top priority.

“Last week’s incident stands as a reminder of how real the insider threat is to the Marine Corps,” said Pete Russett, director of Mission Assurance. “Though no one can accurately predict the behavior of others, this program is designed to allow base personnel to recognize and report behavior that may be indicative of potential violence.”

All service members and Department of Defense civilian employees across the base are required to attend one of the three types of courses.

For the majority of the base population, the Violence Prevention Awareness and Recognition Course is required. It focuses on teaching small unit leaders how to recognize and report potential threats.

This course is available at the following times and locations:

LOCATION: Little Hall Theater (3 CLASSES EACH DAY)
DATES: April 9 – 12
TIME: 8 – 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., and 2 – 4:30 p.m.

LOCATION: The Clubs at Quantico (3 CLASSES EACH DAY)
DATES: April 10 – 11
TIME: 8 – 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., and 2 – 4:30 p.m.

LOCATION: The Basic School, Heywood Hall, Building 24164 Classroom #1 (2 CLASSES)
DATES: April 12
TIME: 8 – 10:30 a.m., and 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

“In an infantry battalion, the lance corporals would have corporals to look out for them, and the corporals would have sergeants, and those sergeants would have staff sergeants — so on and so forth — up the chain.” said Russett. “In that traditional structure, everyone’s covered. Here in Quantico, where the same lance corporals may have a civilian officer-in-charge, it’s not so easy to make sure everyone is taken care of. The VPP plugs that hole.”

For command level DOD employees and service members, such as officers-in-charge, executive officers and sergeants major, there is the Violence Prevention Officer Course. The course will instruct these senior leaders how to respond to incoming violence prevention reports to best solve issues on a case-by-case basis as well as influence their units.

This course will be held at the following time and location:
DATES: April 2 – 4
TIME: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
LOCATION: Liversedge Lodge, 2nd Floor Small Conference Room

“This is the Marine Corps answer to deal with inside threats,” Russett said. “Even though those small unit leaders may report potential threats, the commanders are vital.”

Finally, for those holding specialized billets, such as the Staff Judge Advocate, the Sexual Assault Prevention Officer and Substance Abuse Control Officer, there is the Violence Prevention Team Course. The course will instruct these key leaders on how they may influence a commanders’ response to a particular incident and advise a course of action relative to their position.

This course will be held at the following time and location:
DATE: April 4
TIME: 8 a.m. – noon and 1 – 5 p.m.
LOCATION: Breckenridge Auditorium, Building 2076

The Violence Prevention Program is not a replacement for small unit leadership but is a viable resource to make sure Marines are taken care of.