Expert: Chris Wagoner - 6/4/2008

Question
hello sir. i am extremely interested in pursuing a possible career in swat. i am
a cavalry scout for the US army and will be in for 3 years, i look forward to a
deployment at the end of this year and already have training in urban combat.
would i be able to walk on as a swat selection at all or is it mandatory for
soldier to be patrol officers as well? i would really like to skip that step if
possible, as i would like to be my one of my city's finest warriors after being
one of my countries finest. im training for ranger selection rite now, and will
be able to apply for that elite school after i get back from leave on the 21st. i
look forward to learning what i can from and esteemed commander of the
noble police of this, the country i enjoy serving. thank you for your time and
response.

Answer
First let me say THANK YOU! Thank you for your service. You have my heartfelt thanks and gratitude. Being former 3rd Infantry Division (Army) myself I understand some of the sacrifice you are making for the rest of us. Hoooooaaahhhhh!

OK now to your question. I am glad he has decided to become a police officer. We need more former military people. In Florida, only sworn Law Enforcement Officers can be part of SWAT teams. We have a lot of former military on our SWAT teams, its a natural fit if you think about it. So the answer to your first questions is yes, he has to become a police officer first before you can become a SWAT Team member. And in addition to that, most agencies have a requirement for the officer to put in a certain number of years. Our local Sheriffs Office is only a year, until your off probation as a Deputy. They just had try outs for the team and of the 8 trying out, the two that got picked were both former Army.

Let me say that we really, really, really need former military people to get into law enforcement. They have the self discipline needed and the mind set required, along of course with all the skills in firearms and physical training already instilled in them. They are a great fit. Also the GI benefits pay for the schooling!! I run a police academy in North Central Florida and love it when I get good former military people as recruits. They usually end up as my class leaders and almost always get hired by an agency before they graduate, or very shortly after it.

If you are interested in finding out more about Florida training to be a police officer you can look here for how to apply to the Academy (http://www.policecareers.org/) , and I would be happy to help you out any way I can. I recently helped a soldier and his wife get all his paperwork and things done before he even got back to the states, and when he got back, he was right into the academy. The training runs about 6 months and then you are eligible to take our State of Florida Police Officer Certification Exam, and then of course be a cop anywhere in Florida. And just a side note, my academy is rated in the top 2 or 3 in the state, out of 48 training academies for passing rate on the State Exam, you pass our course, you will pass the state exam! And get hired.

If you have any more questions please feel free to ask, I would love to see you in a great career that has served me well for more than 26 years now. But you have to be a police officer first before you can become a SWAT member.

As for SWAT. Many people are under the impression that being a SWAT team member is a full time position. In 99% of departments its not, it is what we call a secondary position. That means that you are a patrolman or detective or whatever position you are serving in and a SWAT member second. You carry all the SWAT gear in your assigned vehicle or its carried in the SWAT response vehicle, and when you are needed for a SWAT call out, they notify you and you respond to the location and become a SWAT team member.

That’s how secondary positions work. Other secondary positions in most places are teams like Dive team, Search and Rescue and others like these that are not needed all the time. SWAT teams require a lot of physical and mental discipline.

Here is a list of just some of the additional units available in the police department:

Aviation Unit
Bicycle Patrol
Bomb Squad
Canine Unit
Child Protective Investigations Section
Contractor Licensing and Fraud Unit
Crime Scene and Crime Lab
Crime Stoppers Unit
DUI Unit
Economic Crime Unit
Evidence Unit
Marine Unit and Dive Team
Mass Transit Unit
Motorcycle Unit
Mounted Patrol
Regional Investigations Division
School Resource Deputy Unit
SWAT Team
Victim Services Unit

So you see there are many other specialty units you can get into.

Good luck and be safe. And I commend you for thinking of Law Enforcement as a career.