The cries for help came from the stairwell.

Two security personnel were clearing Bldg. A on the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) campus when they heard someone yelling.

"Help! I've been shot. I think my friend is dead!" shouted one of the wounded actors in this active-shooter drill held on board Naval Support Activity Bethesda (NSAB), Feb. 4, during the Navywide Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield exercise.

The two officers went down the stairwell and passed the wounded and dead actors in this simulated scenario to make sure the building was clear. The shooter, played by Master-at-Arms 1st Class Nate Cable, had made his way through the building and down to the USU security office where he shot the pre-planned targets.

After he was apprehended by security, the officers went through the buildings to make sure the area was secure before an announcement was made over the base's loudspeakers that the exercise had been completed.

This active-shooter drill was one of many exercises during the two weeks of Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield 2016, a Navywide exercise that assesses law enforcement response in several different scenarios.

Master-at-Arms 1st Class Jonathan Cales, leading petty officer of NSAB's Security Training Department, said all the objectives of Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield are being met and they are learning from it as well.

Not only does Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield help the security team learn, but Cales said it helps those who come to the installation to know how to act during a real-world event.

According to Cales, USU hosted the active-shooter scenario this year because of the tough environment law enforcement would face if an actual incident occurred there. He pointed out several rooms and stairwells and how the buildings are all connected through hallways.

"When it comes to an active shooter, if you can hear gunshots and you can hear screaming then you kind of get a sense of which direction you need to go," Cales said. "In the event that you respond on scene and you don't hear that, then you have to systematically clear every floor, which means every room, every hallway, every staircase, until you clear the entire building. Then you would go from building to building to building until you can clear the entire facility."

Another reason the drill was at USU was that higher education facilities have become frequent targets for active shootings. A 2013 FBI report on active-shooter incidents in the United States lists educational environments, government facilities, and health care facilities as three of 11 categories where the public is at risk; all three of which are housed within NSAB.

"Our chances, statistically speaking, of that being a realistic threat for us is high," Cales said. "Yes, the Navy does say that we will conduct active-shooter exercises annually, and that we will do annual training for active shooters. However, it's not just a check in the box. It is us practicing for a very realistic threat that we face every day."

All the objectives were met during the drill, which had base security responding as if it were an actual event, Cales said.

"We're meeting our objectives and we're learning from it at the same time," Cales said. "Nothing is ever expected to be perfect. Had I just stood downstairs in the USU security office and said 'Okay, activate the [exercise] now' and made the call myself, my guys really aren't getting a lot out of the training."

Notices went out via Everbridge and the base's loudspeakers that an active-shooter exercise was happening and instructing people across the installation to shelter-in-place.

"I walked upstairs and it seemed that everybody sheltered in place," said Chris Mottler, USU security director. "Doors were locked where they could be and everyone did what the appropriate steps were for an active shooter."

For more news from Naval Support Activity Bethesda, visit http://www.navy.mil/.