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SWAT CTU Ops - Explosives Awareness & Mitigation Workshop |
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Course Overview
The scope of this workshop is to teach SWAT team members how to conduct an operation with the special characteristics peculiar to
terrorist incidents and accomplish the mission, whether there are hostages involved, IED’s, booby traps, or suicide terrorists with
maximum safety for: citizens, team members and surrounding assets. By nature, the operation may become more similar to a military
operation because, as mentioned above, this is a criminal act with a strategic goal. It is part of an ideological struggle against
a state or population and may be carried out by a professional team of well equipped terrorist subjects.
Included in the scope are the goals of integrating Bomb technicians/ EOD personnel and K9 units effectively into the operational planning
and training for such an incident. Medical, and other support personnel are required to respond to a terrorist incident and should be
integrated for training also.
Another important feature in mitigating risk is ensuring each and every team member gains an awareness of: Improvised Explosive Devices,
and terrorist methods of operation. It is essential to understand the danger posed by the terrorist methodologies: the prolific use of
explosives, networked use of heavy weapons (firearms), concurrent operational acts and motivational factors that make a terrorist incident
unique from other criminal acts.
This course showcases tactics, techniques and procedures that have been used successfully throughout the world to resolve terrorist incidents.
US, Israeli and many other units have utilized these techniques. This material is not exhaustive. Terrorist techniques evolve and as such
Counter-Terrorism Operations must evolve. This course provides proven concepts and ideas. Each agency trained will gain tremendous incite and
a platform from which to begin an effective Counter-Terrorism program. Each agency must evaluate and adapt the techniques presented for use within
their use-of-force policies and departmental SOPs.
A Terror Incident versus a Criminal Interdiction (e.g. A High Risk Warrant)
In a high risk warrant situation, there are generally two categories 1) narcotics 2) other felonies such as immigration issues, robbery or even murder.
Suspects in a building form a serious threat to a SWAT team and may shoot from within the building adding to the danger.
However, in each tactical evolution, it is the presumption of the SWAT team that the perpetrators want to escape and remain alive.
When suicide is part of the equation, it is often a last-ditch attempt to avoid incarceration. With the exception of groups like
the Davidians at Waco, Texas, that died committing suicide in a final blaze, the general modus operandi of the suspect is to survive the situation.
This is taken into account in planning the SWAT operation.
This important distinction is critical to understanding a terror incident and the threat it poses to a SWAT team.
The team may have been trained in Dynamic Entry techniques that are not always appropriate when terrorists are: waiting for a breach,
and using motion detectors in hallways to set-off explosive devices powerful enough to destroy the entire building. From the
Terrorist point of view, killing members of a SWAT team may be a better objective than the mission they were planning to execute.
There are examples from around the world of terrorists who have deliberately attempted to lure an entry team into one of their locations
for the purpose of ambush even when this prevents escaping themselves (Jordan, Israel, Iraq, Chechnya etc.).
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