SWAT Captain/Team Commander:

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Special Weapons And Tactics teams, commonly known as SWAT teams, are special units of experienced police officers trained to handle situations such as hostage incidents, active shooters, terrorist attacks and high-risk arrest warrants. Each SWAT team is led by a SWAT team commander, who oversees the actions of the entire team when SWAT is activated.

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The primary duty of any SWAT team commander is tactical leadership during a dangerous situation involving the risk of an armed confrontation. An officer outside the SWAT team, called the incident commander, makes the final decision about whether to send the SWAT team in or not. Once the decision to deploy SWAT has been made, the SWAT team commander has full authority over his officers. He oversees the tactical commander, negotiators, snipers, medics and all other team members until the incident is resolved.

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The SWAT team captain/commander is personally responsible for picking the officers he will lead, selecting them from the ranks of the department based on established criteria. Typically (*and only for the real the world), the Framingham, Massachusetts, SWAT team requires officers to have at least three years of experience, two recommendations from supervisors and a good job-performance record, but the final decision belongs to the SWAT team commander. The commander can also remove an officer from the team at any time with or without reason.

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The SWAT team commander is in charge of making sure all team members receive both specialized training and ongoing professional development. Typically (*and only for the real the world), the initial training in the Framingham SWAT team consists of 40 hours of instruction and practice followed by 16 hours of additional training every month and an extra 40 hours every year. The team commander is expected to be able to meet the same basic training standards as the team members and to groom potential leaders to take his place when he leaves the position. Organizations such as the National Tactical Officers Association offer special training courses for future SWAT team leaders.