COLUMBIA, S.C. - The FBI’s Columbia Field Office hosted their annual SWAT Summit for South Carolina the week of September 22 - 26 at the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, an event aimed at enhancing tactical law enforcement proficiency and interoperability.
Over 25 agencies across the state came together to participate, with officers varying from having participated in multiple summits and experiencing it for the first time.
“As a SWAT officer, we respond to critical incidents where we are a life saving measure”, said Thomas Hammerstone, a SWAT Team Member with the Charleston Police Department. “We are here this week to train and to safely test out new techniques that are given to us by the FBI and we bring back to our own departments.”
For the 9th consecutive year, the training extended to topics to include firearms, indoor and vehicular close quarters combat, tactical medical care, and rural patrolling tactics.
“This is now my third time attending the SWAT Summit, and each year has been very beneficial in its own way”, said Mike Manemeit, a SWAT Sergeant with the Horry County Police Department. “The rural patrolling training block this year is something that will especially help us out back home. Our county is about 1,200 square miles of woodland, and the training taught here gives us an advantage.”
While the training curriculum itself is the core portion of the week’s purpose, the opportunity existed for networking and relationship building to occur and grow amongst the participants. In their proficiency building, team building was included to build partnerships that extend across various departments.
“Over the last several years, this state has had two large manhunts, one in Chester and the other in Charleston, and our guys showed up on scene and saw familiar faces amongst the various departments”, said the SWAT Senior Team Leader for the FBI’s Columbia Field Office. “That made getting through the event successful, and those partnerships were built during this course over several years. Partnerships in law enforcement are extremely critical, both on the tactical and investigative side. As we close out the week, we’re proud of the participants. We’re thankful for the effort put in and their positive attitudes. It’s been a great week and I hope to see them next year.”