FBI Special Weapons and Tactics Teams

FBI Special Weapons and Tactics (FBI SWAT) Teams are specialized part-time SWAT teams of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FBI maintains SWAT teams at each of its 56 field offices throughout the United States.[3] Each team is composed of a varying number of certified SWAT operators, dependent on office size and funding.

This article is about FBI SWAT teams. For FBI full-time national tactical team, see Hostage Rescue Team.

FBI Special Weapons and Tactics Teams
Active1973 – present[1][2]
CountryUnited States United States
Agency Federal Bureau of Investigation
TypeSWAT
Structure
Full time team members26[1]
Part time team members1,073[1]
Teams56 (field offices)[1][3]

History
An FBI SWAT team advancing during an aircraft hijacking training exercise at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi.

The Firearms Unit at the FBI Academy began developing SWAT teams in the early 1970s.[2][4] Following the Wounded Knee Occupation in 1973, the FBI established a regional SWAT program to organize SWAT teams and provide qualified command personnel.[2]

Roles
FBI SWAT operators conducting target shooting training

FBI SWAT teams are specially trained to serve warrants and intervene in high-risk incidents such as active shooters, barricaded suspects, or protection for personnel or dignitaries.[1][5][6][7]

FBI SWAT teams are trained to a national standard and utilize the same equipment which enables a team to provide assistance to another Field Office Team.[3] SWAT teams can be dispatched to aid local law enforcement with limited resources to manage large-scale high-risk incidents.

Several factors can determine the deployment of FBI SWAT. Some of those factors are:

  • The potential of violence
  • The potential risk to law enforcement and the public
  • The location of the warrant service and case requirements[8]

SWAT Operations Unit

The SWAT Operations Unit (SOU), part of the Critical Incident Response Group, oversees the FBI SWAT program.[3] The SOU is responsible for developing standardized training, procedures and tactics, and for research and development including equipment, for the SWAT teams to ensure interoperability for multiple-office deployments. During multiple-office deployments the SOU provides planning assistance and oversight.[3] SWAT teams train on average 32 hours a month.[1]

Enhanced SWAT teams

Nine FBI SWAT teams are designated as "Enhanced" SWAT teams and are specially trained to be able to assist/augment the full-time national Hostage Rescue Team if needed.[9][10] Enhanced SWAT teams are typically located at larger field offices and comprise a larger number of personnel than standard teams, in addition to having increased access to additional tactical equipment and methods.[10]

Equipment
FBI SWAT operators alongside an MRAP during a counterterrorism training exercise at Naval Station Norfolk

Weapons

FBI SWAT is known to use the M4 carbine, Heckler & Koch MP5/10, Remington 870, Remington 700, various Glock models (17 Gen4, 19M, 20), SIG Sauer P226, and Springfield Armory 1911 Professional Custom.[10]

FBI SWAT also uses ballistic shields, stun grenades, enforcer battering rams, sledgehammers, Halligan bars, and gas masks, among other equipment.[11]

Vehicles

FBI SWAT uses a variety of armored SWAT vehicles, including the Lenco BearCat, Humvee, various MRAP models, and occasionally tracked armored personnel carriers. A variety of civilian-style vehicles are also used when necessary (such as to avoid attention), often unmarked SUVs, vans, or pickup trucks produced by subsidiaries of Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.

In film and television, FBI SWAT appears in films such as Face/Off (1997), The Town (2010), S.W.A.T.: Firefight (2011), and S.W.A.T.: Under Siege (2017), and television shows such as FBI, Criminal Minds and The Blacklist (2013).

FBI SWAT also appears in several video games, such as SWAT 4 (2005), Payday 2 (2013), Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege (2015), Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands (2017), Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint (2019), and Ready or Not (2021).

References
  1. Federal Tactical Teams: Characteristics, Training, Deployments, and Inventory (PDF) (Report). United States Government Accountability Office. September 10, 2020. GAO-20-710. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  2. Botting, James (2008). Bullets, Bombs, and Fast Talk : Twenty-five Years of FBI War Stories. Potomac Books. p. 20. ISBN 9781597972444.
  3. "Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG)". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  4. Coulson, Danny O.; Shannon, Elaine (2001). No Heroes : Inside the FBI's Secret Counter-Terror Force. Pocket Books. p. 109. ISBN 0671020625.
  5. James, Nathan (September 3, 2015). Federal Tactical Teams (Report). Congressional Research Service. CRS Report for Congress, R44179. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  6. "Up Close with an FBI SWAT Team Agent". FBI. 2008-11-17. Retrieved 2011-01-25.
  7. "FBI SWAT Teams Join in Terror Simulation". FBI. 16 September 2005. Archived from the original on January 10, 2008.
  8. "Buffalo FBI". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  9. "Our People and Capabilities". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Archived from the original on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
  10. "FBI SWAT". American Special Ops. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
  11. "Tools of the Trade - SWAT". FBI. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
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