Expert: Chris Wagoner - 10/18/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hi there,
My husband is an active duty soldier. (ARMY)He is deploying to Iraq the end of this year and instead of re-enlisting he is think of joining Florida SWAT. He was a candidate for Ranger school but never got his slot before training for Iraq came up so he can pass all the physical tests. He will have 3 years in after his tour is over and will mostly likely be a sergeant. Do you have to become a police officer to become swat? or is previous military experience enough? Hope you can help with these questions! Thanks so much!

ANSWER: Hi Ashley,
First let me say THANK YOU! Thank you for your husbands service, and yours as a military souse. 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 come to Florida and be 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 he 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.

Your Husbands military experience could count if he is a MP. A lot of the MP training can be converted over to our police officer certification. If he has been an MP and gone through MP School he may not have to attend the Police Academy in order to take our State Exam to be a police officer, which is good. If he is not an MP, then he will have to attend the police academy somewhere in Florida, get hired by a Police Department and then after he is off probation and met the departments time requirement, he can try out for the SWAT team.

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 and him 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 he is 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, he passes our course, he will pass the state exam! And get hired.

If you have any more questions please feel free to ask, I would love to see him in a great career that has served me well for more than 26 years now.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks so much for all your help. My husband is 25th Infantry Division stationed in Hawaii. So nope no MP training. He's actually at work right now but I'm sure he will have some more questions when he gets home - he really doesn't want to be an officer first. He says he doesn't want to get put on traffic detail or any office job. You know how grunts are...lol. Thanks again for such a quick and great response!

Answer
HI again Ashley,

What a small world!! I happen to know BG Bednarek of the 25th ID, who is the Deputy CG of Operations currently stationed in Iraq for the 25th!!! I e-mail with his family all the time. Mostly his wife, Holly, who is a great lady. He is due to come home in December from being there almost 2 years!! I have a YouTube Channel where I post positive videos of the military in Iraq (Channel name 3rdID8487) and I met the General and his family when I posted a video of him on there, and we have become friends ever since. Great people!!

Tell your husband that it's not that bad being a street cop, and even if he gets on SWAT, its not a full time position. Almost every single SWAT team all over the US is what we call a secondary position. That means that he serves as a police officer in whatever position he does (patrol, detective, K-9 , whatever) and when they have a need for SWAT they activate a call out system (pagers or cell phones) and they then respond and switch to SWAT team mode.

So even if he gets on SWAT he will still have to do regular police work, which in my humble opinion (LOL) is not that bad. I have worked most areas, road patrol, detective, traffic and others and they were all fun and interesting. I would also have to say that after being in the military, he will find it very hard to find a job that keeps his interest and he does not get bored at, law enforcement is one that will keep his interest and keep him busy.

Well if he has any questions or you do feel free to ask more. I would be happy to help any way I can.

Stay safe and thanks again for your husbands service and your sacrifice for us all.