Sorry for the triple post.

I don't mean to be rude at all, by the way.

Damn, son.  Not only do you dish on SWAT, but you had to do it THREE times.  That's cold.  In all seriousness, you reinforced the point I was trying to make, but I was mainly pointing out the difference between the missions and purpose of SWAT vs. CT.  I would take issue with the "Joe Bozo crackhouse" characterization.  Raids on drug houses are dangerous business, and in many cases a raid on a crackhouse in L.A. or a meth house in rural Missouri present some of the same threats as hitting a terrorist safe house in Pakistan or Colombia.  An AK-47 is an AK-47, whether it is fired in Compton or Karachi.  Sure, most raids end without a shot being fired, but you have to train for the worst case scenario.  Let me ask you this:  Which is harder, raiding a house understanding that you can only shoot the bad guy if he threatens to shoot you or someone else, or going into a house "weapons free", in which any armed or resisting subject can be shot on sight.  I bet even the Delta guys would admit that the first scenario would be a tough one to operate under and would require a lot of training and discipline. 

 

I still feel that the operational tempo point I made regarding experienced SWAT teams is an important one.  You can train all day long for weeks, but most operators will tell you that the best way to learn is to do it for real.  I believe that many of the top tier American SWAT units could be rather quickly trained up to a level where they could take down a terrorist held facility.  The hard part would be getting them trained up in the infiltration and exfiltration tactics (parachuting, scuba diving, and land navigation, among others) used by Delta, SAS, and ST6.  Were terrorists to attack a school or shopping mall in the United States it wouldn't be Delta, ST6, or even FBI HRT responding, but your local police SWAT team.  The situation becomes what is called in the police world an "active shooter" situation.  I've been meaning to write a post about this tactic and how it could apply to counter-terrorist situations, but have been putting it off. 

 

Here's an interesting sidenote:  Does anyone know what America's first dedicated counter terrorist unit was?  It wasn't SWAT or Seal Team 6, but LAPD SWAT.  SWAT was formed in the late 1960's by former LA Chief Daryl Gates to help the Department fight militant urban terrorist groups such as the Symbionese Liberation Army.  Most of the early members were military veterans and used military style tactics.  When Delta was formed in the mid to late 70's they consulted with civilian police SWAT units (not to mention the British SAS), who by that time had several years of experience in room clearing and CQB tactics.  To this day military CT units quietly and covertly consult with and train with Federal and local police SWAT units on tactics and equipment.  Their missions are different, but they can learn a lot from each other. 

I'm wasn't intending to diss SWAT, that could be my career goals if the whole military things falls through.

 

I certainly didn't mean to say that taking down a crackhouse isn't dangerous business, but I honestly believe that taking down a terrorist compound is

But smitty wouldn't you agree that the guys that CAG or ST6  confront are usually much more dangerous than the typical SWAT target ? AK-47 is always an AK-47 but it depends on who is shooting it. No harm intended.

Any good books on CT Units. I meant on books with many units featured not one unit only books. thanks.

The bad guys Delta (what does CAG stand for?) or ST6 might run into run the gambit from an untrained, uneducated  teenager armed with a rusty AK-47 to a battle hardened, well-trained Islamic militant.  The same goes for the SWAT cops to some extent.  Most of the time you are dealing with people that will surrender quickly, but every once in a while you will be facing a hard core white supremacist, drugged out paranoid meth head, or a veteran gang banger that is not afraid to die and has nothing to lose by shooting it out with the police.  Granted, the risks to CT operators are much greater when they go on actual ops, but SWAT cops carry guns and wear helmets and body armor for a reason.  It isn't just for show. 

One book I have in front of me right now is Special Forces by Lt. Col. George Forty.  It is put out by Airlife publishing.  They show a website of ; It provides a glossary of most of the world's special forces and CT units.  It was published in 2002, so it is still pretty up to date for the most part.