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An 11-hour hostage situation at the Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville ended Saturday evening with all hostages unharmed and the lone suspect dead.
About 200 law enforcement officials from multiple agencies were involved in the response, including the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team, which flew in from Quantico, Va. The FBI describes the team as the agency’s most elite tactical unit.
Here’s what you need to know about what the team does and why it was created.
Why was the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team created?
The FBI created the team in 1983 ahead of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
According to the FBI website, its creation was in response to the hostage situation at the 1972 Munich Games, when 11 Israeli athletes and a police officer were murdered by terrorists.
The team also provides support during high-risk arrests and domestic terrorism events in addition to hostage rescue efforts. The team’s motto is “servare vitas” which means “to save lives.” The team is called in during incidents in which local and state law enforcement cannot resolve a situation.
Who can become a member of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team?
FBI Special Agents who have two or more years of experience in the field can apply to join the Hostage Rescue Team, according to the agency’s website. The FBI requires at least three years of tactical experience through the military or law enforcement.
. In its 38 years of existence, the team has recruited only several hundred people to its ranks, according to the agency. Members of the team are called “operators.”
How are they different from other specialized units, such as FBI’s SWAT team?
According to the FBI website, hostage rescue team operators train full-time, compared to members of the FBI’s SWAT team, who train a few days each month.
The team has the ability to deploy to any location in the U.S. within four hours, and operators have specialized roles within the team, according to the FBI. In addition to tactical operators who assess best ways to breach a building and carry out the rescue mission, the team also has helicopter pilots, paramedics, bomb technicians, K9 handlers and people who specialized in vehicle modifications and maintenance.
The team has been activated for missions in the U.S. and abroad more than 850 times since its creation in 1983, according to the FBI’s website.
The team’s missions violent crimes, foreign counter-intelligence, undercover operations and surveillance. The team also protects FBI personnel in combat zones and conducts rescue missions after natural disasters.