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Enhancing Survival: Body Armor's Vital Role in Active Shooter Training

Body armor in active shooter training: the response programs the FBI, BJA and CISA point to, what FEMA policy says about armor for fire and EMS responders, and what agencies can check about the armor their people train and respond in.

ArmorList Editorial·September 23, 2025·5 min read

Body armor and active shooter training

Active shooter response is one of the hardest things responders train for, and body armor is part of what they wear when they do it. This article sets out what the federal programs and the training centers they point to say about active shooter response, where armor appears in that guidance, and what an agency can check about the armor its people train and respond in. No armor guarantees survival: armor resists the threats its model was tested against, and NIJ's own article on police body armor says there is no such thing as bulletproof armor.

This page replaces text that compared the NIJ, VPAM and STANAG standards. That comparison has its own article: NIJ vs. VPAM vs. STANAG.

What the FBI's reports record

The FBI publishes an annual report on active shooter incidents in the United States. In its report for 2024, the FBI designated 24 shootings as active shooter incidents; in six of them law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the shooter, and one officer was killed and five were wounded. Read the FBI's latest report for current figures; we do not estimate them.

In our view, the figure that matters for this page is the plainest one: responding officers are among the people shot at.

The training programs

  • ALERRT. The Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center at Texas State University was created as a partnership between the university, the San Marcos Police Department and the Hays County Sheriff's Office. Texas State says the FBI named ALERRT the National Standard in Active Shooter Response Training in 2013. ALERRT says its training is delivered at no cost to first responders or agencies.
  • BJA's VALOR initiative. BJA's Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP) FAQ describes VALOR as delivering no-cost officer safety, wellness and resilience training, resources and technical assistance to law enforcement.
  • CISA. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency says its Active Shooter Preparedness Program provides no-cost products, tools, training and resources.
  • The FBI. The FBI says it offers active shooter resources to law enforcement through its Law Enforcement Enterprise Portal (LEEP), including studies, videos and guidebooks.

We describe these programs as each publisher describes itself; we do not rank them.

Where armor appears in the guidance

Officers. Agencies that receive BVP funds must have a written mandatory wear policy for uniformed officers on duty. BJA says there are no requirements on the nature of the policy other than that it specify when wear is required, and that the requirement is intended to reduce line-of-duty deaths and disabling injuries.

Fire and EMS. In April 2014, FEMA's Grant Programs Directorate authorized and encouraged states and tribal governments to use Homeland Security Grant Program funds to buy ballistic protective equipment for fire, rescue and EMS personnel whose duties may include response to active shooter and mass casualty incidents and entry into a "warm zone" to triage, treat and extricate the wounded. The U.S. Fire Administration publishes operational guidance for fire and EMS departments on active shooter and mass casualty incidents.

Armor is one part of the response. In our view, armor protects only the area it covers, against the threats the model was tested against. Training, tactics, medical care and coordination are what the programs above teach; armor does not replace any of them, and nothing here is a claim about how a given vest will perform.

Training in armor

In our view, people should train in the armor they will respond in, because fit, weight and movement in a vest are learned by wearing it. Training is also hard on gear: NIJ notes that wear and tear from normal use can contribute to a vest's deterioration, and CJTTEC, which administers the Compliance Testing Program for NIJ, notes that wear can mean a vest needs replacing before the end of the manufacturer's warranty period.

Force-on-force training with marking cartridges has its own protection needs. Simunition, a trademark of General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, requires users of its FX marking cartridges to wear its approved head, throat and groin protection, with no exposed skin. A ballistic vest does not meet that requirement on its own.

What an agency can check

Our advice, for the armor people train and respond in:

  1. Know what each vest and plate is rated to: the standard, the level and the test report. Where a buyer, policy or funder such as the BVP requires NIJ compliance, check the exact model on the Compliant Products List (CPL), with the date you read it.
  2. Check fit. The Personal Armor Fit Assessment, a checklist excerpted from ASTM E3003, sets coverage points to check in the positions people work in.
  3. Know what a plate needs. CJTTEC says a plate listed as in conjunction (ICW) should be used only with the soft armor model it was tested with.
  4. Inspect and replace on the evidence: CJTTEC advises replacing a vest struck by a bullet or edged weapon immediately.
  5. Keep the mandatory wear policy current, if you receive BVP funds.

Bottom line

Active shooter response is taught by programs the FBI, BJA and CISA point to, and armor is one part of what responders bring to it. Train in the armor you respond in, know what it is rated to, and keep its record.

To look up a model, search ArmorList: its product records show the standards a model is recorded as tested to and, for NIJ, its CPL status with the date the list was read.

Sources

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