Type III SWAT Training First To Set National Standard

Boise-- Boise based Government Training Institute (GTI), has teamed up with Idaho State University to create and deliver training for SWAT teams throughout the United States and U.S. territories The program is the first to set a national standard and receive certification and

approval from the United States Department of Homeland Security.

The course, Type III SWAT is now pre-approved to receive U.S. Department of Homeland Security (D.H.S.) grant funds, allowing state and local law enforcement agencies to attend the training using D.H.S. grant monies to pay for tuition, overtime, meals, and lodging.

The need for a nationally recognized training standard for SWAT teams has been evident for several years and has not been previously available. This course creates standardized curriculum throughout the United States. Until the creation of this course, SWAT-team training varied greatly from state to state and jurisdiction to jurisdiction, making it difficult for Incident Commanders to gain a true barometer of capabilities of the resources available to them.

The first course will be offered in Boise, February, 2006, and subsequent courses will be offered monthly in Idaho and throughout the U.S.

The preparedness of state and local SWAT teams in the United States is one of the major initiatives of the Department of Homeland Security. In 2004, the D.H.S. created a comprehensive classification system for U.S. SWAT teams. There are three typing classifications ranging from Type III to Type I teams. The classification system was created to support the overall Incident Command System (ICS), allowing commanders at an incident to quickly determine what resources are available to them based upon the equipment, resources, and training levels of various SWAT teams.

The Government Training Institute and ISU are working to submit supporting curriculum to include, Type II and Type I SWAT, which include all of the training included in Type III but add rappelling, fast roping, robot and high-tech surveillance operations, and Close Threat Reconnaissance, which focuses on using unmanned aerial vehicles, robots, radar, fiber optics and other high-tech equipment to gain insight into problem areas. The President of GTI has met with two Principal Research Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory near Idaho Falls to develop new systems to support these courses and operations.

GTI has been in business since 2003 and has conducted training for numerous Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies and military units in the United States and abroad.

The Idaho State University Institute of Emergency Management was approved by the Idaho State Board of Education in July 2003. The purpose of the IEM is to offer workshops, courses, certificates, and in the future, degrees, to meet the professional and career development needs of Idahoans employed in or planning a career in Emergency Management.

Contact:

Chadd Harbaugh, President, Government Training Institute, 208.938.5510
Sarah Hutchins, ISU Boise Center Institute of Emergency Management, 373.1758