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Hostage Rescue Team (FBI)
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| Federal Bureau of Investigation |
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| Director: Robert S. Mueller III |
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| Department: Justice |
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The Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) is the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation's most capable and best-equipped tactical and counterterrorism team [1]. The HRT is trained to rescue U.S. citizens or others who may be held illegally by a hostile force, either terrorist or criminal [2].
The Hostage Rescue Team was founded in 1982 in preparation for the Los Angeles Olympic Games, as a response to possible terrorist actions, such as occurred at the Munich Games [3]. But the real cause for the unit's creation was for legal reasons:[citation needed] the Department of Justice had criticised the common practice of using the US Army's Delta Force (the only Counter-Terrorism unit existing at that time in the U.S.) on the territory of the U.S. because of the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts US military involvement in civilian law enforcement duties.
The HRT became part of the Critical Incident Response Group upon its formation in 1994 as a result of the need to consolidate the assets necessary to respond to a critical incident in one group. Today it is part of the Tactical Support Branch of the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG), and is based at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia [4]. Its purpose was, and still is, to serve as a domestic Counter-Terrorism unit, to offer a tactical resolution option in hostage and high-risk law enforcement situations. It originally comprised 50 operators, and this number has increased since to over 90 full-time operators. The members of the HRT are among the most highly trained and best-equipped tactical personnel in the world[citation needed], although they have rarely been called upon to fulfill their original mandate of rescuing hostages. The HRT commonly functions as a national SWAT team in highly sensitive or dangerous situations.
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The HRT's equipment and tactics are more advanced than any of the FBI's 56 field office SWAT teams, or the 14 'enhanced' SWAT teams. The HRT's capabilities are more advanced because its operators (assault and sniper teams) serve full-time and train daily. HRT operators are assigned to one of three teams, one of which is a designated maritime team. The three teams rotate through three 60-day cycles: training, operations, and support. During the training cycle, the team refreshes its skills and takes part in exercises. During the operations cycle, the team is available for deployment. During the support cycle, the team works on special projects and maintains the HRT’s equipment [5].
One of the chief capabilities that distinguishes the HRT from the FBI's SWAT teams is its ability to fast rope, a technique where the assault team descends down a thick rope from the side of a helicopter. HRT also possess advanced "breaching" capabilities unlike the Field Office SWAT teams [6].
Some of the HRT's roles include:
- Hostage rescue
- Barricaded subjects
- Helicopter operations
- High-risk raids, searches, arrests, and warrants
- Mobile assaults
- Manhunt and rural operations
- Maritime operations
- Cold/extreme weather operations
- Dignitary protection
- Force protection for FBI personnel overseas
- Assistance to military special missions
- Counter-terrorism
Additionally, the HRT has performed traditional law enforcement roles during hurricane relief operations, dignitary protection missions, tactical surveys, and on occasion, pre-positions in support of special events such as the Olympic Games, presidential inaugurations, and political conventions [7].
The HRT is known to train with units such as the Army's Combat Applications Group (otherwise known as 1-st SFOD-D Delta Force), France's GIGN, Britain's SAS, Australian SAS, Germany's GSG 9 and other international units [8].
The operators of the HRT are selected on a strictly volunteer basis after successful completion of an extremely rigorous and demanding two week selection tryout. In order to apply for HRT selection the candidate must be a currently serving FBI Special Agent with a minimum three years field experience [9]. After a four-month initial training period, they are headquartered at the FBI Academy, Quantico. In 2003, members of the HRT were deployed on more than 200 missions, including to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Since its inception, the HRT, or components of the team, has been involved in many of the FBI's most high profile cases, executing numerous operations involving domestic militant groups, terrorists, and violent criminals [10]. The first test of the team's capabilities came in the summer of 1984, when the team deployed to Los Angeles as part of the security buildup prior to the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. The HRT was a participant in the infamous incidents at Ruby Ridge and Waco, as well as at the hostage rescues of prison guards at Talladega, Alabama, and St. Martinville, Louisiana. Both of these incidents led to changes on how and when the HRT is used by the FBI.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Counter-terrorism
- Critical Incident Response Group
- SWAT
- Official FBI Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) page
- SpecWarNet FBI HRT information page.
- Christopher Whitcomb, Cold Zero: inside the FBI Hostage Rescue Team (2001) ISBN 0-552-14788-5
- Danny Coulson, No Heroes: inside the FBI's secret counter-terror force (1999) ISBN 0-671-02061-7
- Thomas H. Ackerman, FBI Careers: The Ultimate Guide To Landing A Job As One Of America's Finest (2004) ISBN 1-56370-890-6