Re: [BNW] Info needed about SWAT teams

["Thomas E. Reed" <tomreed@sundial.net>]

>Hello all.
>
>I need some help with some information for an adventure I am designing. 
>
>What is the composition/manpower of a "typical" SWAT response team. 
>I am looking for as much info as possible, including (but not 
>limited to) skills, specializations and equipment.  If anyone can 
>get me specific info about LA SWAT teams, I will bless them.

Since vampires are fictional, and so is your SWAT team, why not make 
it up? Here's my  take:

SWAT teams, as featured in TV shows, use "special weapons and 
tactics." They are closer to a Special Forces, Rangers or SEAL team 
than ordinary police. They often rely on snipers to try and remove 
hostiles from the situation. They will attempt to rescue hostages via 
stealth and trickery if possible, removing that advantage from the 
bad guys. But first, they try negotiation.

Your team will have one or two negotiators, able to verbally convince 
people to give up, that their situation is hopeless. If your 
anti-vampire forces can imprison and contain vampires, keeping them 
"un-alive" with animal blood or something, that's a bargaining chip. 
If the vampires don't want to negotiate at all, and there's nothing 
the police can offer them, you don't have a SWAT team, you have a 
bloody combat and that's all. At any rate, while negotiations go on, 
the other members of the team will get into position.

In the combat, you'll have people who can infiltrate buildings, knock 
out guards and try to rescue any hostages. You'll have means to 
imprison them. If your vampires can't be killed by normal weapons, 
they'll use something similar to BNW's Covenant weapons like the 
Beretta crossbows with solid oak or ash bolts, or holy water Super 
Soakers. (Holy water can only be consecrated by a priest in a 
ceremony, so having a chaplain and the appropriate supplies might be 
a good idea.)

Grenades are generally avoided; explosives won't be used by the squad 
in most cases, except that some squad members will be able to disarm 
explosives and timers. Communications are likely scrambled and put on 
secure frequencies, so the only info the vampires will be able to 
obtain will be peripheral information passed on by the regular police 
radios. They might hear the conventional police call say "Move aside 
the vehicles - heavy SWAT equipment coming through" and have some 
awareness of that, but probably not the tactical back-and-forth of 
the SWAT team itself.

The main point of having a SWAT team is to minimize death and 
destruction, of innocent bystanders, hostages and criminals alike. 
Although some teams have done things like dropping incendiaries on 
headquarters (this happened, I believe, in Detroit, and has poisoned 
relations between the police and the black community) ending the 
situation without loss of anyone's life is critical.

Of course, this being a game, and since gamers love and expect 
bloody, gory combat as opposed to real role playing, you might as 
well stage the whole thing as a combat.

Unless you want to do a hard-as-nails "liberated" woman as a SWAT 
team member, most of your people will be males of mixed ethnic 
background. If this is in LA, you will have several Hispanic officers 
and perhaps two black officers. (It wouldn't hurt the lily-white 
gamer audience to play people of different races for a change.) They 
will have at least a few points in negotiation, they won't be 
impulsive in combat, and they will all be trained marksmen. (In other 
words, no charging in and randomly firing; they will aim and select 
their targets.) While they will wear body armor, to avoid the worst 
consequences of a random shot, they will all be trained to use 
whatever cover they can find, and dodging and ducking will be 
essential skills. They will remain disciplined in combat; they will 
know their jobs and won't wildly improvise unless the circumstances 
suddenly change.

Your team will not have an official "doctor," but they will all have 
some first-aid skills. If anyone is severely wounded, they will be 
sent back to be treated by EMT's and doctors behind the police lines. 
All they will be able to do by themselves is to patch up minor wounds 
and try to keep any injured people alive until they can get to 
medical care.

Hope this helps...



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