Marine S.W.A.T. Teams Train at Camp Pendleton
This report comes to us via The Scout, the on-base paper at Camp Pendleton

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Specially trained MPs constitute base's S.W.A.T. force
Cpl. Jose M. Montes, Scout Staff

In the silence of the night, a team of Marines slowly moves toward a house. Once there, they wait vigilantly, and with no warning shout, "military police, search warrant, demand entry!" Following the third warning, they explode through the doorway and into the house.

The Special Reaction Team, a group of Marines that falls under the Special Reaction Section of the Provost Marshal's Office, is a specially trained and equipped unit capable of handling high-risk situations beyond the basic capabilities of the military police, said Gunnery Sgt. Michael C. Scott, section commander.

"It is the military equivalent of a civilian S.W.A.T. team," he said.

The group is a full-time training unit, practicing raids four or five times a month, compared with civilians who train once per month, Scott said.

The 10-man team can do more than just building entries. It also conducts random authorized vehicle and safety inspections throughout the base, as well as perimeter checks.

"We have scout teams who patrol the perimeter of the base and check for undocumented aliens trying to cross the base, as well as any other illegal activity that might be happening near the border of the base," Scott said.

The team also conducts training with the Los Angeles and San Diego Police Department S.W.A.T. teams throughout the year.

"The same schools that civilian S.W.A.T. teams get to go to, we also go through them," said Sgt. Chad Hunt, an SRT team leader.

Although all team members are former military policemen, their gear is different from that of normal MPs.

"We have a lot of neat toys that regular MPs don't have," Hunt said. "We have laser and light-mounted devices on our side arms, which allow us to see in the dark and adds pin-point accuracy."

The team is rarely called upon, but it trains every day to be ready in case the call comes, Scott said.

When it does, there's always an adrenaline rush, Hunt said, because "everything else has failed" and ther's no other recourse for accomplishing the mission.

"A lot of danger is involved in it as well," he added.