Ah SWAT- just the name conjures images of heroes and saving the day. Deep down I think all police officers joined the job hoping that they could one day play the hero- jumping over fences to catch a robber, or solving a violent crime and putting someone dangerous behind bars. So does SWAT epitomize this? Yes and no.

First up, since we're an international website, let me cover some important points. Firstly, SWAT is only the American weapon specialist field. 

There also exists: 

1. American: SWAT - Special Weapons and Tactics
2. British: Firearms Units (of varying names depending on the town or city)
3. Australian: Special Operations, STAR, Tactical Response (again varying names between cities)
4. New Zealand: AOS (Armed Offenders Squad)

As a special weapons officer, your days are not filled with fire fights, nor are they a constant battle for survival. In fact as a firearms officer, you'll find the vast majority of your time is taken with physical training activities and drill work to keep your fitness and operation skills at their absolute peak. To be able to deal with the situations firearms officers deal with, a level of fitness is essential- for example if you aren't strong enough to heft up heavy automatic weapons for long periods of time, you're obviously putting your life and the lives of others at risk. If you're not strong enough to engage an offender after a grueling bout of exercise, again, you're risking lives.

I've already mentioned drilling- as a firearms officer its your sole role to be able to end a violent incident effectively, and that may mean a "hollywood style" shoot out, or it might mean split second decisions that result in a happy ending with no force required, or the death of a criminal. Make this decision wrongly and believe me people will be analyzing your actions from the comfort of their leather armchairs for months to come. 

Activities that firearms and special weapons police may be involved in include the following:

• Forced entry to premises
• Counter Terrorism Activities
• Armed offender situations
• Siege situations
• Hostage situations
• Search and rescue
• Perform escorts
• VIP protection

What's great about being involved in SWAT or firearms teams? You get involved with a bunch of people who are passionate police officers. They love the job, and they love being the elite. They also love being fit, and they love being the best. So, when you become a firearms officer, you're generally part of a very high energy team, which makes life pretty good each day when you go to work. Contrast this to other parts of the police where you'll find a wide range of police which, like all professions, have there fair share of people don't want to be there & let everyone know it.

You also get a feeling of camaraderie in SWAT positions because of the intense situations you're involved in on a week to week basis. Sure- you won't get fired on by automatic weapon wielding bad guys every day or every week, but the training you have to get through just to become a SWAT officer is so difficult and personally challenging, you'll feel an empathy and respect for each other that other police rarely experience.  Speaking of that training, I hope you're fit, or you like getting fit- because as I've just said, the fitness aspect is very, very grueling, and frankly, not everyone that wants to get into these kinds of units has the genetics or willpower to make it (I know I never did!). To get specific information on what fitness requirements you'll need, as always, the best place to get that info is direct from your local police. They can also tell you how long you'll likely need to serve in "normal" policing before you move up into firearms positions.

The bad side of SWAT and firearms positions? Well- you're the guys that are thrown into the breach. Wait I hear you say, that's the good part! Correct, in fact, if you found yourself saying that, then great, you probably have a good mindset for being a SWAT officer. But for those of you who don't particularly like the idea of being in the path of the odd bullet, say, because you have children, or can't stand the thought of leaving a loved one behind, maybe another aspect of policing is for you. In the flip side- special weapons police are generally the best trained, best protected, and have the greatest amount of information possible before approaching a scene. In fact, I'd argue (and I'm certain most police will agree with me) that special weapons and firearms police have a lower chance of being killed on duty than normal police. 

Being shot while pulling someone over for a speeding fine or for failing to indicate, while not in the least a glorious way to die, is unfortunately an almost unavoidable situation that officers like SWAT and STAR generally don't ever have to deal with.

So- if you're into personal training and constant learning and drilling about military style and special forces techniques, then a firearms unit might just be for you. Start exercising!!