Ambitions of a future SWAT Sniper?

I'm sure I can, given time. It's a small force, and they have no shortage of tasks out here on the border. I live in El Paso, Texas. Right on the border with Mexico - highest rate of illegal immigration and drug trafficking in the country.

A lot of the cops out here just.. don't care. They don't have the motivation to really make a difference. They seem belleagured, tired. I'm damned sure going to make a difference, and be an outstanding officer. I've seen too much **** here, frankly.

As for SWAT, I'm just going to train myself up to their standards as closely as I can, ahead of time. I'm going to beat their running requirements on my own, I'm going to become familiar with a good rifle and learn all about the mechanics and ballistics of it. I can already beat their basic physical requirements in terms of leg press, pull ups/push ups, and the like. The stuff that will be new and provide a real challenge will be the stuff like decision making, target assessment, and the like, while on the move in tough scenarios.

I do have a tactical mind, though. I play lots of tactical games, I play airsoft (a military simulation which is even used to train some forces out there) and the like, so.. I hope that state of mind can help.

ir0nside said:

A lot of the cops out here just.. don't care. They don't have the motivation to really make a difference. They seem belleagured, tired. I'm damned sure going to make a difference, and be an outstanding officer. I've seen too much stuff here, frankly.

Click to expand...

They don't care now, but once upon a time, they all said exactly what you did when they applied to the academy. The difference between you and them? You still have the option to not make the job your life. If the department provides one, visit the counselor regularly (every other week) just to talk: they're paid to listen to you talk 'stuff' (as Mel would prefer ) and that prevents you from taking it home to the wife/kids, or bottling it up inside until it turns you into what you don't want to be.

Full time SWAT teams usually serve high-risk warrants all day long, lest there's an emergency call. Gaining experience dealing with felons in the county jail (through the Sheriff's Dept.) is a very respected skill when it comes to appraising SWAT applicants, but quite frankly, I'd hate to work in the jails.

It'll most likely be a while before you can join the SWAT team because there isn't a high turnover rate: while you wait, do your two years of patrol and then try to get into whatever will have you dealing with the scummiest of the scum.

Narcotics in ANY department ANYWHERE in the U.S. is an experience that can't be substituted by any other. Know that you will never make so much as a dent in the drug trade, and although any cop will tell you that the Narcotics division is invaluable, they will also say it's not because it stops crime. The utility of a Narcotics division is the training that it delivers to the officers. I can't stress it enough: narcotics, narcotics, narcotics! It's the gateway to just about any other speciality.

If you want to make a significant difference in the lives of the people and community you serve, look for a department that has a good rating of employing community policing. You may (definitely) hear many of the long-time beat cops call it "Liberal Mickey Mouse Bullstuff", but the statistics show it's the most successful method for not only stopping crime, but rehabilitating entire communities.

You and I are in a similar boat, although I have a little bit of time before I graduate and join the academy, but I've been researching the career for years, so if you would like to discuss it further (or call BS on anything I've said, hehe), my AIM is Scatch.

Scatch Maroo

ironside,

From a small agency LE officer, it is not as easy as it sounds to be a small town cop. Most dont realize small depts are the norm, large ones are the exception. I have been in LE for 14 years, with agencies from a Township, to village, to State DNR, to my current small city dept(I have been here for 12 years). In a small agency Mel is right training time is limited, much of you equipment may come at your expense, training may have to be done in off hours, on your time if you want more than the minimum(and you most certainly will).

We have been doing Community Policing since our inceptions, as have most small towns, it is the nature of the beast. I can tell you that in a small town dept there is no narcotics division, the street cops do it all, and it does work, the depts up here all work together pretty well. Patrol is the backbone of Police work, you handle all types of people, the good, the bad, the best and the worst that humanity has to offer. Listen to the instructors, FTO's and all the vets, take something from all of them, and leave the bad stuff behind. Form you own way of doing the job, but stay inside the rules, your career will be short if you dont.

Listen to MAD, he is right take notes, document all you do, and never ever lie. The job is tough, and it can break you down over time, but look for the little victories and you will be able to stay positive. We all come on wanting to make that huge difference in the world, and to correct all the wrongs done by other cops. Take your time, get aquainted with LE in general, and the rest will happen. I finally got our sniper program going this past year after seven years and two chiefs of trying.

If I can be of help just ask.

ML 313


Know your enemy and yourself, and you need not fear the outcome of a hundred battles-SunTzu

Practice does not make perfect, PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT-OSP Drill Instructor

That was some valuable information. Especially on the note-taking process. I realize, now, how much documentation and paperwork I will be doing. That will be a challenge, I am sure! I was the guy in high-school who always took notes in my head, in my own way. I figured that would help me while doing observation and the like, but yeah.. I'll have to start training myself to take a few notes each day, in preparation for the force.

As for being in a small town and being restrained to community policing.. I do not mind community policing. As I said before however, we have the largest narcotic port in the country here, to put it bluntly.

I know a local Customs agent here, whom is primarily a narcotics officer. He busts and arrests so many people it is simply astounding. I will ask him how much the police department and his department in customs work together, and perhaps when on the force I can work alongside Customs/Narcotics, and gain some good experience that way.

Perhaps that will help out a little on the streets.. make some sort of small impact. Perhaps it'd gear me up with some good experiences to take into SWAT.. and perhaps it'd give me a good mark on my candidacy for making the team at all.

I do not mind Community Policing or Patrol, in any case - you get to be mobile, and you get to be the guy who dispells the saying, "A cop is never around when you need one." Then again, I suppose Patrol are also those whom foster the saying, at the same time! =)

I'd love to talk to you both in private, I'm trying to soak up as much information as I can. I do not intend on failing. I do not fear a long wait time to have an opening.

I want to live life to it's fullest.. and I believe this is the best way to do just that.

14sAREGOOD said:

Not to burst your bubble but... Get hired, make it through the academy, get off probation, earn a good reputation, and continue to train for SWAT and Sniper work. If you are not a cop now then you do not know SH1T about police work. Sorry but this thread is a joke.

Click to expand...

14sAREGOOD said:

No offnse to irOnside but you sound a little young.

Click to expand...

This is only relevant to show you a flaw in law enforcement culture: there are so many officers who apply to be police officers because they lack the education/training to get a job doing something else, and so by the time they're done floating around at the age of 30, they think to themselves: "Well hey, I suppose I can join my local PD since they only require a GED or a high school diploma."

Because of this, however, these people that are much older tend to look down on younger people, ESPECIALLY when they have the foresight and motivation to set for themselves long-term goals and prove themselves capable of achieving them: such as desiring to be LE at a young age, and actually becoming one.

And thanks to the defense attorney: "And by the time I got finished with them, they both made Inspector Clouseau look like a genius. "

14sAREGOOD said:

That is great you defend criminals. I will remember to never listen to you.

Click to expand...

Do your job and there's not much a defense attorney can do to offend you. There is no need to despise a defense attorney if you provide the DA enough evidence to guarantee a conviction, but considering that it's your job, you shouldn't complain about having to do it.

14sAREGOOD said:

Thanks in advance for the Flaming I will receive but you guys are sad group. I won't be back.

Click to expand...

We don't (or at least, try) insult people here... we merely point out the flaws to everyone else so no one will repeat the same mistakes you made.

I've lectured to a few subscribers of this post on this very topic, and even posted briefly in this thread regarding it: this man is obviously an uneducated* man who has let his job become his life, and quite frankly, I think we're glad that his kind become so offended that they choose to not come around.

My advice has always been, and will always be, that if you want to become a police officer, do whatever is different during your off-time to ensure you don't end up grizzled and burned out like the rest of your colleagues.

Scatch Maroo

*I use the word education in a liberal sense, not necessarily meaning formally (i.e., accredited university): I personally know a number of university graduates who I would consider as ignorant as the man who wasted the time to post on this board.