Multiple city, county and federal employees converge at Sparton facility to focus, evaluate response efforts
DELEON SPRINGS, FLORIDA – Aug. 20, 2025 – The best offense is a good defense. The old adage rings true in sports, military operations, and emergency response. After weeks of planning, multiple organizations representing the city of DeLand, Volusia County, Florida National Guard, the Federal of Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, and the DeLeon Springs-based Sparton tested their response capabilities in a simulated active shooter emergency at the Sparton site.
The exercise was carefully designed in the Incident Command System framework to test collaboration and evaluate participants’ skills at interdiction, security, communications, coordination, and emergency medical services. The exercise was hands-on and comprehensive, with more than 75 people participating in activities from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. EDT August 15. Sparton operations were not underway during the exercise.
An extensive post-exercise debriefing took place, allowing players to share valuable information with evaluators. Evaluators will synthesize those details and create an after-action report that will be delivered to all participants for improvement of their respective operations.
“By hosting the emergency exercise at the Sparton facility, we provided a realistic and challenging venue for our partners to test their capabilities,” said Lawrence Koleff, the company’s Security Director. “This experience has already improved our coordination among law enforcement and emergency management, but it also ensures our readiness for any security threat our facility may face in the future.”
“Our employees are the backbone of Sparton", said Donnelly Bohan, president and CEO of the company. “Any activity that generates enhanced safety for our employees is paramount to our mission. It was an honor for Sparton to take part in this emergency exercise, as our team could work side-by-side with the talented professionals who tirelessly keep our community safe.”
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