I needed to say this for some time.

[rob8282]

Hello everyone
I’m a contract federal security officer. I work in a building that has public space as well as federal space. So I have to walk a lot of different floors when I’m making my rounds. So I’m doing a patrol I go through a I.G. office every thing ok there so I move on to the next floor one to two min. on this floor. I here a E.M.T. unit running code stop at my building. Since I didn’t here anything from my radio I assumed they weren’t going to a federal space. So I went to find out what was going on from building security. I’m told the E.M.T are going up to the I.G office I was just on. So I show the E.M.T. where to go and I take the lead. There where two special agents in the space and they where upset. They pointed to a room so we head that way. There was a special agent down with a gun shot to the head. I get on the radio asking for a Federal Police Officer. Dispatch comes back THERE IS A F.P.O. ON HAS WAY THERE NOW. Just to give some info contract Federal security officers and F.P.O. go through the same MAGA center for dispatching. So I do my job. On my way home that’s when it hits me all at once. I get home I tell my wife what went on {my wife is working on her masters in counseling} but I cant talk to her at the time. So I go back to work the next day I call up my supervisor asking for help they said they need to get the ok from the head office in Pittsburgh. For the most part there was no help from them. So I got to the security specialist for the building to help. That did the trick for getting me help. I went through debriefing from the F.P.O. that help a lot.


But I’m still mad at dispatch and not just for this. Stuff never gets sent to us when it should like a BOLO in a timely matter. With how close F.P.O. and contract federal security officers work with each other it effaces us working well. This problem been brought up in allot of Department of Home Land Security meetings. But up to this point everything is the same. We are going to be getting some more training on the 28. I hoping it will help.

Think you guys for listing to me even if I’m not a LE officer

P.S. This took place about a year ago.

[Sgt Jon]

I am and will always be an advocate of Critical Incident Debriefing as soon as practical for all parties involved. It provides a private forum to share feelings and such related to a high stress incident, often times the first such experience for most of the participants.

It is unfortunate that your Company did not have the mechanics in place to provide you with this debrief, but I am glad it was provided to you through the Officer.

Seems like your experience was compounded by poor communications, which plagues many departments on one level or another and the lack of support after the incident, not to crucify the Company you were or are still working for but it is possibly they have never had such an incident occur and were unprepared for it…on both aspects.

The upcoming training; all training if done right is good, even those “mundane” refresher or mandatory annual classes.

BTW: I have never seen anyone cast dispersions towards non-sworn Board users here…you are in the same field of work and if you browse other areas like the Dispatcher/Firefighter/EMT sections you will see a commonality among all… we share stressful jobs and have found here a forum to communicate those stresses, issues, questions, gripes and more.

Keep up what seems like a good working relationship with the FPO's you are working with and indeed you need to find someone you can share your feelings/vent with...be it your Wife or a Co-Worker, it helps to have someone you can trust and do this with, possibly start a Peer Support Group within your Agency with help from an outside professional.

[rob8282]

Think you Sgt. Jon for the reply. I do talk to my wife about it. I think F.P.S. is going to take charge of the debriefings. That will help out a lot. I know it wasn't dispatch fault per say. I know dispatch has to keep F.P.O's and the contract security communication separated because of the rules and regulations. We all work by.

But when you hear or more like not to hear from dispatch on a daily basis it just make you mad. When your at meetings you bring up the problems. They say they are working on it but it the same thing everyday, nothing got fixed. But I do have hope the communication problem will be fix on the 28 from the training and the authorization we will be getting. So I hope, but we will see.
I fill a lot better, just by doing this to. Think you.

[viper24]

words cant explain what you are going through but I just
wanted you to know that the support sessions that you all will
have really do help in a way.

its times like these where we have to stick together and being a federal
contract guard myself i would hope that these security companies would
take heed in events like this

My (and Im sure the rest of guards feel the same way) send our
most sincere condolences.

Your fellow guards in VA

[dmclark]

The reactions of your management are not atypical of many sworn agencies still today. The need for critical incident debriefing cannot be stated strongly enough.

If you don't feel that talking to your spouse is working for you (and I think you SHOULD talk to someone other than her) I would work with FPS and/or use your medical benefits to get some counseling from a licensed therapist, preferably one that works with LE agencies.

Hang in there and get the help you need. You are not alone and many sworn and non-sworn officers have gone before you and emerged whole and happy at the other end of the tunnel.

PM me if I can help you out in any way. DM