Hostage Rescue Team, Part 5: Held to a Higher Standard
The FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team was formed as a non-military counterterrorism tactical team to help safeguard the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles...though no one was certain the concept of a full-time tactical team would succeed once the games were over. But three decades later, the team has proven its worth. Here, a retired agent and first-generation HRT operator reflects on his experiences...
Hostage Rescue Team, Part 5: Held to a Higher Standard
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| HRT operators participate in an urban assault training exercise. |
The FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team was formed as a non-military counterterrorism tactical team to help safeguard the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles...though no one was certain the concept of a full-time tactical team would succeed once the games were over.
But three decades later, the team has proven its worth during hundreds of high-risk missions in every corner of the world—from the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in East Africa to deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan and the arrests of Top Ten fugitives and the D.C. snipers. They have achieved that success—through 27 generations of operators—because of the HRT’s rigorous selection process and the individuals who have what it takes to make the team. Here, a retired agent and first-generation HRT operator reflects on his experiences...
