What Is SKA360? DSP's Active Assailant Training Program Explained

Mar 30
4 min read

SKA360 is DSP's active assailant preparedness training program — a comprehensive, scenario-based curriculum developed and delivered by accredited military and law enforcement instructors that addresses the full spectrum of pre-incident recognition, in-incident decision protocols, and post-incident response capability that determines outcomes in active threat scenarios.

The name reflects the program's philosophy: 360-degree protection means no gap in the security posture — not in technology, not in monitoring, and not in the human preparedness that determines outcomes in the first minutes before any technology or law enforcement response reaches an incident. SKA360 addresses the human preparedness dimension that no security technology layer can substitute for.

Why Active Assailant Training Is DSP's Fourth Pillar

DSP's security architecture recognizes four pillars of comprehensive protection: Physical (technology), Financial (insurtech), Human (preparedness), and Future (talent pipeline). The Human pillar — SKA360 — exists because the research on active threat outcomes consistently identifies human decision-making in the first minutes as the primary determinant of casualties.

The FBI's Active Shooter Incidents Report documents that the majority of active shooter incidents end before law enforcement arrives — often in under 5 minutes. In that window, the decisions made by people in the facility determine outcomes. No technology eliminates the importance of those decisions. A gunshot detection system provides a 3-second alert. A drone reaches the scene in 60–90 seconds. Law enforcement arrives in minutes. The people in the building are already making decisions before any of these responses reach them.

SKA360 changes those decisions — from improvised reactions to practiced protocols.

What SKA360 Covers

Threat Recognition and Pre-Incident Indicators

The majority of active shooter incidents involve pre-incident warning signs that were observed but not escalated. SKA360 teaches participants to recognize behavioral threat indicators — the patterns of communication, behavior change, and situational interaction that research identifies as preceding violent incidents — and provides clear protocols for reporting and escalation that overcome the social inhibitions that typically suppress concern reporting.

This pre-incident component is the highest-value element of comprehensive preparedness: the incident that is prevented through early threat identification and appropriate intervention generates no statistics and no headlines — and saves the most lives.

Facility-Specific Decision Protocols

Generic run-hide-fight frameworks are a starting point, not a complete protocol. SKA360 is customized to the specific facility — participants walk actual evacuation routes, identify the specific doors that lock from inside, locate optimal shelter locations, and practice decision sequences in the actual environment where they would execute them. This facility-specific customization is what produces behavioral change rather than compliance documentation.

Law Enforcement Communication

SKA360 specifically trains the communication protocols that law enforcement needs during an active incident: the format and sequence of location information, how to update responding officers as a situation develops, and how to coordinate with DSP's RSOC operators who may have aerial drone intelligence available for law enforcement before their arrival.

Basic Medical Response

The Hartford Consensus — developed by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma — establishes hemorrhage control, specifically tourniquet application, as a life-safety priority in active shooter scenarios. SKA360 includes hands-on tourniquet application training that has been documented to save lives in the minutes between a shooting incident and emergency medical services arrival.

Stress Inoculation

SKA360's scenario-based training creates realistic decision stress — exposing participants to simulated high-stress conditions during training. Research consistently shows that cognitive performance under extreme stress improves significantly when individuals have previously experienced making rapid decisions under comparable conditions. The scenario component is not a drill for compliance; it is the mechanism that produces the actual behavior change that saves lives in real incidents.

SKA360 and DSP's Technology Integration

SKA360 is designed to integrate with DSP's technology security architecture, not operate independently of it. The integration dimensions:

Alert recognition: SKA360-trained staff understand what a gunshot detection alert means, how to respond to an RSOC notification, and what aerial drone intelligence looks like — eliminating the confusion that untrained staff experience when encountering these outputs for the first time during an actual event
Law enforcement handoff: SKA360 communication training prepares staff to provide the precise format of information that law enforcement needs when arriving at an active incident — and to coordinate with RSOC operators who may have live aerial intelligence to share with responding officers
RSOC protocol integration: SKA360 exercises can include coordination with RSOC operators, building the operational familiarity between trained staff and DSP's monitoring infrastructure that enables coherent coordinated response

FAQ: SKA360

What does SKA360 stand for?

SKA360 is DSP's active assailant preparedness training program. The 360 reflects the program's comprehensive approach — 360-degree human preparedness that addresses pre-incident recognition, in-incident decision protocols, law enforcement communication, medical response, and stress inoculation through scenario-based exercises. It is the Human pillar of DSP's four-pillar Total Risk Elimination security architecture.

Who delivers SKA360 training?

SKA360 is developed and delivered by accredited military and law enforcement instructors with documented operational experience in tactical response and threat assessment. Instructor credentials include law enforcement or military backgrounds with specific active shooter or crisis response experience, and certification from recognized organizations such as ALERRT (Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training). Facility-specific customization is conducted for each training engagement.

How does SKA360 differ from standard run-hide-fight training?

Standard run-hide-fight training provides a decision framework — categories of action to consider. SKA360 provides facility-specific evacuation routes, practiced decision sequences in actual environments, law enforcement communication protocols, tourniquet application skills, and stress inoculation through scenario exercises. The research evidence consistently shows that scenario-based training in familiar environments produces meaningfully better decision-making in actual incidents than generic framework instruction.