Expert: Chris Wagoner - 1/2/2008

Question
QUESTION:  Hello sir,
I am in my second semester of my sophomore year in college and i want to become a SWAT member. Ive always wanted to be one and i am capable of handling such tasks but i am clueless on what i have to do to start making my way to be one? My question is basically to know the steps i need to become a SWAT team member? I am from the Tampa Bay area and i read that your from central florida, so i really want to stay in contact and learn more about the field.
Thank you for reading
Jose

ANSWER: Hi Jose,

Yes I am in North Central Florida, in Gainesville. I run the police academy there.

Getting a college degree is going to be very important, so start thinking about that. I have 2 in criminal justice and they are very helpful. Some departments require them to get hired, and some require it to get promoted. Either way getting that college degree is important.

Different states have different requirements for training. Florida has 772 hours of training to be a police officer. The training takes place at a community college or vo tech center in Florida, other states use vocational techs and some use stand alone police academies.

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, 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. But your military training will be very,  very helpful in this. SWAT teams require a lot of physical and mental discipline.

Before you can apply for any additional position you have to have been on the force a year in some places, more in others. Its up to the department.

In the state of Florida you can go through the Academy in one of two ways, you can be hired and the Department pays you and pays your way or you can pay your own way and then try to get hired. There are over 40+ training centers in Florida where you can get your training.

Here is the link to them all:
http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/cjst/Training_Resources/training_centers.html

You can pick one that is near where you want to live. A man such as yourself should have no problem getting hired or accepted to a training school such as mine. Training last about 6 months (772 hours) and can be 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, or 4 hours a day part time at night and it takes a year (although I do not recommend that).

You also have to meet the state of Florida requirements which are here:

To be eligible for the position of a law enforcement or detention officer, you must meet the following criteria (F.S.S. 943.13):

• You must be at least 19 years of age
• You must be a citizen of the United States
• You must be a high school graduate or equivalent
• You must not have been convicted of any felony, or misdemeanor involving perjury or false statement, nor have received a dishonorable or undesirable discharge from any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States. Any person who, after July 1, 1981, pleads guilty or nolo contendere to, or is found guilty of a felony or of a misdemeanor involving perjury or false statement shall not be eligible for employment or appointment as an officer, notwithstanding suspension of sentence or withholding of adjudication. Notwithstanding this subsection, any person who has pled nolo contendere to a misdemeanor involving a false statement, prior to December 1, 1985 and has had such record sealed or expunged shall not be deemed ineligible for employment or appointment as an officer
• You must agree to be fingerprinted by the employing agency or training academy
• You must pass a physical examination by a licensed physician that will be administered upon a conditional offer of employment
• You must be of good moral character
• You must successfully complete a background investigation
• You must complete basic recruit training
• You must complete an Affidavit of Applicant form (CJSTC-68)
• You must comply with continuing training or education requirements as deemed by the employing agency

In Addition, in accordance with federal law U.S.C. 922(g), it is unlawful for any person:
• who has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;
• who is a fugitive from justice;
• who is an unlawful user of, or addicted to, any controlled substance [as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substance Act (21 U.S.C. 802)];
• who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or who has been committed to a mental institution;
• who, being an alien, is illegally or unlawfully in the United States;
• who has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions;
• who, having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced his or her citizenship;
• who is subject to a court order that
o was issued after a hearing of which such person received actual notice, and at which such person had an opportunity to participate;  
o restrains such person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner of such person or child of such intimate partner or person, or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or child;  
o and includes a finding that such person represents a credible threat to the physical safety or such intimate partner or child; or by its terms explicitly prohibits the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against such intimate partner or child that would reasonably be expected to cause bodily injury; or
o who has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence;
• to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affected commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. There is no exception.

Also I am sure you have no problem with this, but you should not have taken drugs or been arrested recently (last 3-5 years or so) a clean record and no drug use is of course the best.

You can go here for more information on getting into my academy if your interested: http://www.policecareers.org/

BTW if you go to any academy in Florida, you can be a Police Officer or Deputy anywhere in Florida.

If you have any additional questions or need clarification please feel free to ask. And again thanks for your service to our country.


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

QUESTION: I would also like to ask if its a requirement to have military experience or a benefit? If they would choose a person with a military background rather than a person with a degree.

Answer
Hi again Jose,

Thats a very good question! I would have to say from experience that they would choose someone with a degree over someone with miltiary experience. But! Once you are on the force, and you are trying out for SWAT, SWAT would look at military experience over degrees. So I guess if your set on SWAT, then military service would be the best bet. You also get Veterans preference points during the hiring process in many places. Plus the GI Bill pays for the academy in Florida if you decide to put yourself through it. SO the military side has many benefits.

So I guess the answer is while a degree may help you get hired better, a military background would help you more with SWAT. Also depending on where you are going to go to the academy, the military would pay your way as opposed to you paying your own.

Oh and one last thing, if you go into the US Army and go through MP school, you do not even have to go to the academy in FLorida to take the state police officer exam, you are expempted. SO there is that to think about also. In Florida its called the "Equivlancy of Trianing" and you get to take the State Police Officer Exam without going to the academy.

Now have I really confused you? I hope not. Ask for any clarification if you like.