ITG® Conducts Dignitary Protection Scenario at SWAT Challenge
July 16 – 18, 2008
The Sierra Foothill Tactical SWAT Challenge is an annual event, held in the foothills of Northern California. This year’s three-day event was hosted by the Placer County Sheriff’s Department in Auburn, CA. As the 2007 Challenge winners, the Stockton Police Department was responsible for designing the competition and planning the various Challenge events.
Earlier this year, the Stockton P.D.’s SWAT officers approached the International Training Group™ with the idea of running a Dignitary/Executive Protection – High Risk Transport event at the competition, a first in Sierra Foothill SWAT Challenge history. Since many SWAT teams around the nation are tasked with such protective missions and high risk transports within their jurisdictions, particularly in light of the Kirkwood, Missouri City Council shooting in February, the scenario seemed an appropriate choice.
The 2008 Challenge was attended by twelve, seven-member teams including the: Amador County Sheriff’s Office (S.O.), Grass Valley P.D., Lodi P.D., Murrieta P.D., Newark P.D., Nevada County S.O., Sacramento P.D., Oakland P.D., Pasadena P.D., Roseville-Rocklin P.D., Yuba City P.D., and San Joaquin County S.O.
ITG®’s Vice-President of Training Services, Jake Ashton, and Training Coordinator, Jen Ashton, designed and proctored the scenario along with Stockton P.D. Officer Lon Hudson. Anyone familiar with ITG®’s style of force-on-force scenarios (one of ITG®’s core training tools) would know that success in the scenario demanded teamwork, communication, planning, tactics, and common sense. Each team’s performance was evaluated based on the same U.S. federally accepted protective doctrine taught in all of ITG®’s courses. If teams implemented effective cordons of security and cover & evacuation measures, success was assured. For those teams which did not, the results were painful. Jake, Jen, and Lon, along with a group of Placer County Sheriff’s Deputies serving as role players, conducted a dynamic event where all teams seemed excited to perform and learn from their mistakes. Members of the ITG® Alumni Association will be pleased to note that Jake, who was usually successful in his role as the “would be assassin,” spent several days nursing a wide variety of welts and bruises from those scenarios he did not win.
Other events at the Challenge included various tactical and precision ranges for pistol and rifle, Land Navigation course, Team Terrain Challenge (traversing terrain from the top of the Foresthill Bridge to the North Fork of the American River more than 730 feet below and back), along with several other scenarios such as Buy/Busts, Hostage Rescue, Search Warrants, and a team Rural Assault Trail event. The grueling three days of competition not only challenged each team’s tactics and endurance, but also their spirits. This type of competition can either make or break a team, if it doesn’t break the team’s individual competitors first, with such rugged terrain, mucky river water, and poison oak around every corner.
At the end of day two of the competition, teams were given a hiatus from competing and invited to attend the Challenge Banquet, hosted by Placer County S.O. and sponsored by MSA Police Products. The evening was filled with team camaraderie, a bit of relaxation, and a myriad of raffle prizes. The banquet ended with the grand prize drawings for free tuition gift certificates for ITG®’s 3-day Surveillance Detection Course, 6-day Weapons Courses (Handgun & High Risk Environment Weapons Courses combined), and 12-day Executive Protection Agent’s Training Course. These prizes were won by Grass Valley P.D., Oakland P.D., and Murrieta P.D., respectively.
The overall winners at the Challenge were Lodi P.D. winning first place, Sacramento P.D. earning second place honors, and Pasadena P.D. and Oakland P.D. in a tie for third. ITG® looks forward to the attendance of the raffle winners at our upcoming Open Enrollment Courses and a chance to conduct another Dignitary/Executive Protection scenario, possibly at next year’s Challenge. We also welcome feedback from our readers. If any of you have ever attended a SWAT Competition which offered a Dignitary/Executive Protection scenario as part of the competition, we would love to hear about it. Likewise, if you are involved in the creation, planning, and/or coordination of a future SWAT Competition and would like to add such a scenario to your program, please reach out to us. In either case, we can be contacted at training@itg4.com.