A SIMULATED “hostage situation” took place at the Department of Corrections on Wednesday as part of this year’s KONFITMA exercise.
Besides Corrections, the agencies involved were the Department of Public Safety, the Commonwealth Ports Authority, the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, and CNMI Homeland Security Emergency Management.
Their main task was to diffuse the hostage situation and avoid casualties.
According to acting Corrections Commissioner Captain Marvin Seman, the scenario involved inmates who were drinking homemade moonshine before assaulting a Corrections officer and holding him hostage.
“As it is a hostage situation, we initiated a lock down, isolated the area, and tried to negotiate with the inmates,” Seman added. “We contacted DPS for assistance and brought a negotiator in. After the negotiator failed to secure the release of the hostage, we requested DPS SWAT to breach [the area] and extract the hostage [in the scenario].”
Seman said it was a “really good experience for the whole department because this is the first time Corrections is taking part in KONFITMA training.”
KONFITMA is a coordinated multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional emergency response exercise, whose purpose is to improve local agencies’ capabilities to respond to emergency situations.
DPS Assistant Chief of Police Joe Saures said, “For our part in the scenario, Corrections called and let us know what the situation is. We need to find out how many people are involved, how many suspects are there, is there any weapon involved so that we can come up with a plan and get in, but we don’t go in blind.”
He said the SWAT team did well in the exercise. “I always emphasized to the guys that training is a must. It only becomes better when you keep doing it over and over. Sometimes it’s frustrating for the guys doing the same thing over and over again, but when things happen, they are ready. Because if we don’t do training and we just go in there, that is a suicide mission.”
For Guam National Guard exercise planner Sean Cripps, KONFITMA also increases the chance for “joint inoperability training.”
He added, “That’s one of the primary themes of these exercises. Having the Department of Corrections join the exercise is a very positive direction for emergency response.”
Cripps said they are looking forward to another KONFITMA exercise next year.
“As you can see here, we were able to work jointly with DPS to take care of the incident. We look forward to the Department of Corrections’ continued participation and I hope to make the exercise more complex for everyone as we increase the opportunities for first responder training. So, we look forward to that opportunity, especially after the long Covid period. We want to allow all the agencies and other departments to exercise their policies and procedures. I think this is a good first step, to get everyone back online,” Cripps said.
An “active shooter and improvised explosive device” scenario at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday concluded this year’s KONFITMA exercise.
KONFITMA participants pose for a group photo at the Department of Corrections where a simulated “hostage situation” took place Wednesday as part of a training exercise for first responders.
A sign regarding the exercise in progress is seen at the Department of Corrections on Wednesday.
DFEMS personnel conduct a “medical assessment” of the Corrections officer who was “held hostage” by inmates as part of the 2023 KONFITMA Exercise.
DPS Assistant Chief of police Joe Saures, Acting Corrections Commissioner Captain Marvin Seman, and Guam National Guard exercise planner Sean Cripps.
