Im so sorry, OP. Were going to have people sit in a conference room and a deputy will speak. Pardon me if I dont exactly trust law enforcement to do your training for one minute let alone seven hours. I HATED that we had to do these trainings it felt like being given a band-aid for a hemorrhage. Guessing they will breakout into groups and tour the building to find safe places to hide or ways to block paths. I'll keep it short. If anything would persuade me to learn how to do make-up well, its this lmao. So why not plan this up again someday?. Ours was a few days long, they played a sound over the PA every [whatever number of minutes it is that someone dies from drunk driving], and they staged the crash on the football field and made us all go look. I imagine the people who put these together were just as out of touch as this boss. Lastly, if you found this content helpful or want to share your own examples, let us know in the comments. It might possibly get him to realize the ridiculousness of what hes saying, but even if it doesnt it gives you a great and specific springboard for explaining to him why his assumptions are way off. Be on your best behaviour: Another thing you can try doing is being on your best behaviour. I was eighteen when Columbine happened and wed had Dunblane here in the UK only three years before that. And 1 drill type is not sufficient: tornado response is different than responses to fire or ; so the more, the better. I would not talk to your boss in your shoes. I told them the way you prevent that is to click their heels together and wish real hard. I dont think I could do a drill again. But in my opinion, your older colleagues have ZERO excuse for not empathizing with your concerns. Before things finally came to a head). You should absolutely opt out if you want to. For more information, please view our Privacy Policy and Earnings Disclosure page. There is no value in a seven hour training for something that would last from 5-30 minutes, realistically. Go somewherea hike, a spa, a museumon that day. The cop who did presented on active shooter protocols casually started discussing a mall shooting in another state part way through the training. Its just telling the kids that if a lockdown gets announced, then we lock this door, hide here, be quiet, the door handle will get tried by the headteacher, and this is the announcement that its over. If my staff had this conversation to me, Id take it immediately back to leadership b/c my leadership is older than me. A year or so before COVID, our state decided to mandate active-shooter drills for schools. Ive been participating in active shooter drills since high school, know about run-hide-fight, and have friends who have lost siblings to gun violence. I grew up in the Seventies and Eighties in the UK with the IRA. Not only was it bad in general, but he had a dumb smile on his face the whole time, using military and law enforcement terminology to make his points. A text like this will save you up from any long unnecessary, especially if you cant come up with any other genuine sounding excuses at that moment. But I was wondering how can reasonable accomodations include opting out of mandatory safety related training? I had an NCO tell me that the soldier should not take a class during Annual training dates. for 2 weeks of training out of a semester? 3) Find a friend to talk to during drill. Like what was really scary about the drill at the time was the impression that if it did happen, not only would we be dead, but worse than that it would be our own (collective) faults. There is no active shooter education for the workplace that should take seven hours, unless maybe if your workplace is law enforcement or something where you will be the ones actually dealing with a shooter. Like, the drill should be a relatively calm way to practice and build some muscle memory to rely on in case the thing happens. This excuse is exclusively for ladies and its fantastic because nobody asks questions. I would call in sick. Just be careful not to cough or sneeze or they could actually suggest a hospital visit. Heres where it gets a little morally ambiguous. They told the older members what to do. Even if that number never shows up. If youre super close with them, theyll probably just laugh and say theyll catch you later. Its almost perfect. Two weeks ago, we had our first active post-Covid drill, meaning we were meant to act it all out. It's almost perfect. Im sorry for the loss of your loved one and for your own experience too. It's easy to learn and can be used by non-developers to create amazing websites. You were asked to attenda raging, booze-filled pub crawlon Friday? In addition to being traumatic for employees, it also seems like a poor use of time. Talk to your units First Sergeant or Commander if you believe you have a valid reason for being excused from an upcoming drill. As another university admin assistant (also for a dean) who has just spent the last couple of weeks dealing with a real recent active shooting event on a campus: what?!??!! I do not feel safe. That way, you have the documentation if you need to go to HR. But last summer I had to attend one of these trainings at work (though much shorter) and I completely melted down. Burying your head in the sand wont change reality. Im 38 now and I still think about that day with anxiety and sadness. Again her choice is individual and different, but I am glad her workplace is partnering with them so that others who many never have had such drills (me included, 7 workplaces over 30+ years and I have at most had video training) have that opportunity. There is NO WAY she could do a 7 hour (!) Yeah, the duck and cover drills for nuclear war were equally not reassuring when I was a child, Im not clear on how those were helpful. Its not necessarily as private or discrete as you may prefer, and youll still see whats going on in the simulation. Weekend is a great excuse to get out to the movies. They dont call us a generation of flakesfor nothing. he is not a nice guy. I did not encounter any of the officers because I immediately closed my door when the drill started, but my Dean and several coworkers who were standing in the hallway right next to our office did encounter one. 10 points are given just for being in the Reserves, which leaves 14 from AT + 26 MUTA (13 drill days). And Im autistic, so the alarms and strobes are hard on my nervous system. Its in back of my mind when I go to various stores. You say hes a nice guy, but All branches of the armed forces are also open to women, currently our highest-ranking female officers are lieutenant colonels. The day she got back to the office, there was news of multiple mass shootings in the States and she was so unaffected. So a UTA 4 would be four drill periods. Law enforcement response was more organized and confronts shooter relatively quickly. EVERYTHING this guy says. Make a complaint or request or whatever afterwards if you feel up to it, but for now just protect yourself by disengaging, and make sure you give yourself lots of TLC and distraction on your sick day. This individual lived through a civil war in their country of origin and understandably was not keen on the idea of triggering difficult memories in a professional setting. They dont even have scissors at their desks. The babysitter just called and told me she couldnt make it today Thats all you need to say to them. You never know when that may be useful. (I mean, safety is great, but this person is hilariously the most accident-prone person we all know, and always has a story about falling down the stairs or getting a ticket for speeding on the way to work. This goes on your permanent military record and can affect your career negatively. Even worse was what they advocated we teach kids they expected that we would teach 5-year-olds to run in a zigzag pattern across the playground and show them a safe location to run to (like the next school down the street), or discuss the possibility of an active shooter with them every fall. I got good feedback later about the power of the word, so maybe try it. I was when I first went to this unit 5.5 years ago. It gets so much worse! Im a little bit too old to really be a member of the school-shooting-generation (in that I was in undergrad by the time Sandy Hook happened), and my impression when I hear my younger peers talking about it (and from some commenters in threads below) is that the pervasiveness (of both the drills and the threat) is what makes them so traumatizing for many people. 11. Unfortunately I really doubt the boss is going to be at all receptive to having his eyes open, just based on the description of him. Question regarding missing drill weekend. We had fire drills when I was a kid; that was back in the 60s. The US is particularly bad because of its gun laws. The adults should be taking care of the problem way before our children are in danger. (Id clue in a coworker who could text when that part is over. date went to be described later to the party host. In college, we watched Run/Hide/Fight training videos and we all glanced at the massive glass windows in the classroom to the hallway. I bet too many people at work would opt if they could (even just for if Im going to be at work I have actual work to do) and make it not useful training. But some gossip can cause harm to your team and the organization. We will be presented with a PowerPoint (or similar) and a handout. I will never, ever attend one of these againit is worth *any* political or professional price I might pay. It also can depend on what training is going on. I knew people involved in both. I can say that Im unsurprised, and that thats an attitude that explains a whole hell of a lot that people write into this blog about, like flat wages, exploitative culture, and the constant fear of losing a job and not being able to afford food/exorbitant rent/anything else that was once upon a time attainable. Adults with postsecondary qualifications will earn significantly more than those with only high school education, so it is a recognized pathway to a more comfortable life with a stable income. Sorry, I got a bit over-emotional here, but anyways you got what. I mean, there are so many reasonable and sensible and logical ways to respond to being told to toughen up, and theyre all better than this, but sometimes If youre making me do this I want it in writing that when I forget this is a drill and deck somebody you pay my legal bills and I dont face any disciplinary action whatsoever is the way to their dear little dinosaur brains. It doesnt matter whether youre needed to babysit your grandchildren, godchildren, or your best friends fur babies, lending a hand when its needed is a fundamental part of living in a caring society and being a good friend. No one processed the paperwork and the slot got filled up every single time. Columbine happened when I was in college, so I was incredibly lucky to have missed those kinds of drills as a young person. Its been really hard to deal with for them and me as their mom who couldnt protect them from this happening. this situation is hard enough without your boss being insensitive. So not really a recommendation, and honestly I think the sick day route (or just a days vacation) has a lot going for it, but something to consider if you do want to have the discussion. Ill clear my head first, get in a better place and come to the next one. Communicate early and often with both your NG chain of command and also with your college professors. Your boss is not a nice person. He had no sense of humor about such things. They know what has been happening and alsoif you say you dont want to participate, that should be good enough. Thats ridiculous! Our wallet holdsall ofour important things, including cash, id, and credit cards. I would go with calling in sick the day of the drill. Career success is just inches from your hands. Im so sorry youre in this position, OP. And then, afterwards, we got the WORST LECTURE EVER from a crying teacher telling us that if this was real wed all be dead because of our collective inability to JUST BEHAVE OURSELVES and BE QUIET for half an hour. Here are some valid excuses for missing drill: Here are some of the films they are showing. If you miss a drill weekend, there are a few things that could happen. Hes a nice person but has very deeply entrenched ideas about mental health, anxiety, young people, and triggers, and I dont want to have to disclose my own mental health diagnoses to him, make him think Im simply not tough enough to handle it, or come across like a millennial snowflake, etc. My high school did that as well. For most permanent types of employment, workers in the United States are entitled to between 10 and 14 days of paid vacation per year. There is a solution that has worked just about everywhere else in the world, and its not this. Logistics, communications, chain of command, etc. Oh god. Theyll know all the doors to block, all the hiding spots, all the weapons to hide. If they wouldnt let you out of a fire drill, theyd be unlikely to let you out of this, and I dont know how things would shake out with saying you need to skip important safety drills as a reasonable accommodation. A professional email will be expected and it is often a great way to make a great impression with your professional counterparts. He took one look at me and sent me home, I was obviously in no fit state to work. Frankly, its upsetting enough leaving them behind at daycare 4 days a week even though I know they both love it, and they are extremely safe.