U.S. Marine Corps base runs active shooter drill in Jacksonville

Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island in Jacksonville, Florida, ran a four-hour active shooter and explosive threat exercise on September 3, testing how the installation and local first responders would handle a complex security emergency inside an occupied office building.

The drill, called Exercise Urgent Response, combined Blount Island Command with Jacksonville fire and police, Florida state emergency managers and federal investigators. Simulated gunfire interrupted the workday as role players moved through stairwells, hallways and offices, forcing service members, civilian employees and contractors inside to decide in the moment whether to run, hide or fight.

Blount Island Command, a tenant command under Marine Corps Logistics Command, serves as the Marine Corps’ hub for maintaining and managing equipment stored aboard its Maritime Prepositioning Ships, vessels loaded with combat gear stationed around the world so Marine units can respond quickly during a crisis. The Jacksonville facility handles inspection, maintenance and distribution of that equipment when the ships return to port roughly every three years.

As the scenario unfolded, Marine Corps Police Department officers coordinated their response with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. People inside the building had to recognize the threat, find primary and alternate exits, report suspicious activity and respond appropriately once law enforcement arrived. Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department crews entered only after police secured the building, then triaged and treated simulated casualties before transport.

“It was a lot of great communication on all sides,” said Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department Capt. Shawn Hall. “By the time we arrived, the Marine Corps Police Department was already in place, already taking lifesaving steps and giving trauma care, so we could get in with medical treatment and transport.”

The scenario later expanded to include a simulated explosive device near the shoreline. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Hazardous Devices Unit assessed the device and rendered it safe. Inside the installation’s emergency operations center, participants tracked the evolving situation and shared updates to maintain a common picture for decision-makers, with the Florida Division of Emergency Management providing state-level coordination and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service supporting intelligence sharing and exercise control.

The exercise built on operational planning work done in January, when the installation, Blount Island Command and local, state and federal partners examined how they would protect the facility and keep operations running during a major incident.

“The exercise successfully validated installation defense plans, mutual aid agreements and real-world interoperability with local, state and federal partners,” said Marine Corps Lt. Col. Beau Pillot, operations director for Blount Island Command. “Exercise Urgent Response bridged the gap between deliberate planning and real-world execution.”

The drill also tied into the Marine Corps’ 2026 National Preparedness Month theme, “Prepare Today. Protect Tomorrow,” part of the annual September observance encouraging emergency planning.

Evaluators from the participating agencies scored performance against the exercise’s objectives. Their findings will feed into a formal review process the Marine Corps will use to refine Blount Island’s response plans and shape future training exercises, though officials have not said when that review will be complete.