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Our ATOA TEMS SME Committee will be hosting a demo sponsored by SAM Medical. Please see the below information and please RSVP to Scott Garzuzi at sgarzuzi@honorhealth.com if you plan to attend.

Date: July 15, 2020

Time: 1300-1500 hours

Location: Phoenix PD SVD/MDC Building

425 East Buckeye Road Phoenix, AZ 85004

This annual school has been an integral component in our training and member selection.  The school is successful because students like you have chosen to attend and give maximum effort for 4 straight days.  The training tempo is high, and instructors work hard to impart training based on our experience.

Our upcoming HRT School is scheduled for April 6 through April 9, 2020. The school will commence at 0800 hours on April 6 at our Special Operations Building.

This school is considered advanced and students should have experience on their agencies SWAT team and substantial tactical ability.  The training days, while defined and reasonable in duration, are demanding.  Substantial levels of fitness are expected. 

To attend you must be a member of your agencies’ Tactical Unit and have approval from your Tactical Commander in order to attend.  Non-tactical team officers may also attend with approval from their department’s Tactical Commander and approval from us.  Please have your Tactical Commander email me from his/her agency email account with their approval to attend.  Travis.Gribble@mesaaz.gov.   

Training topics include:

Hostage Rescue Overview

Hostage Rescue Tactics

Post Assault Procedures

Diversion Devices

Team Movement Single/Multi Room

Hallways/Stairs

Breaching

Sniper Initiated/Coordinated Entries

Live Fire House

Single/Multiple Suspects/Hostages

Hasty/Emergency Rescues

Planned Deliberate Rescues

There are several lodging accommodations in the area.  Students are encouraged to bring their lunch/food if possible, every day.  This increases our training time.

Ms. Bonnie Scaccia Special Operations/SWAT Support Specialist Bonnie.scaccia@mesaaz.gov

All questions administrative in nature including payment should be directed to our SWAT Support Specialist, Ms. Bonnie Scaccia. 

The cost to attend is $450 per person or $400 for Arizona Tactical Officers Association members.  Each attending agency is responsible for tuition, travel, lodging, per diem, and equipment expenses of its attending members associated with this training.  Please send tuition money as soon as your enrollment is confirmed.  A check payable to the Mesa Tactical Team is acceptable.  Again, all payments are handled by Ms. Scaccia. 

All questions tactical in nature regarding the school including equipment should be directed to the MPD SWAT Officer in Charge of the HRT School.  Please contact Officer Daryl Woodward early if you have equipment needs so he can assist well before the school starts. 

Officer Daryl Woodward #15726 Daryl.Woodward@mesaaz.gov

Please refer to the following pages for equipment requirements and other important information. 

Each member attending training is required to have:

Department SWAT Duty Uniform

Body Armor and Ballistic Helmet

Nomex Gloves

Primary Weapon AR-15 style or equivalent

Secondary Weapon Semi-Auto pistol

Lights attached to both weapons

Appropriate Tactical Footwear

APR (Gas Mask)

Hat for Range Training

Eye and Ear Protection

Weapons and Ammunition

Instruction is based heavily around the AR-15 style of weapon and common US law enforcement semi-automatic handguns.

Force on Force (Simunition) scenarios are prevalent at this school.  Please bring your own force on force (Simunition) weapons.  Contact the Officer Daryl Woodward if you need to borrow these training weapons.

Below is a list of required equipment and ammunition Per Student.  Any questions contact Officer Daryl Woodward. 

1. Primary weapon (M4 style) with Sling + 3 magazines with 1000 total rounds of ammo. 800 training rounds and 200 frangible.  Frangible must not be jacketed.
2. Handgun with holster + 3 magazines with 1000 total rounds of ammo. 800 training rounds and 200 frangible.  Frangible must not be jacketed.
3. Breaching shotgun (if you have one)
4. 4 Diversionary Devices. (Per student)
5. 12 Diversionary Device “poppers.”
6. 300 – UTM marking rounds for your force on force weapons.  PER STUDENT PER WEAPON SYSTEM
   1. Please bring to registration

Any questions please call our Support Services Specialist or the MPD SWAT Officer in Charge of the school.

Please pay special attention to the following final page of this letter.

Thank you

SAFETY AND WEAPONS STANDARDS

We believe safety is our priority and we expect it to be the same for our students.  At the beginning of each day we will issue a safety brief and attendance is mandatory.  If a student misses this brief he may not be allowed to participate.  The safety brief will be similar to the following:

Daily Safety Brief Four Firearms Safety Rules All weapons are loaded Finger straight along the frame until on target and decided to fire Don’t point weapon at anything you don’t intend to kill or destroy Know your backdrop and beyond Applies equally to Simunition weapons Know where your team is when searching.  Don’t clear into team. See Rule #4Load and Unload all weapons safely near berm or approved backdrop. All muzzles (Simunition weapons apply) shall be pushed past fellow officers with no chance for officers in front to step into your line of fire. Everyone is responsible for safetyAll violations are grounds for removal from course Emergency Medical Plan in case of injury

Students are expected to be proficient with their primary weapon (AR-15/M4 style) and handgun before the HRT School.  Clothing shall be tactical style in nature, long pants, and appropriate shoes. No shorts are allowed.

Please remember the HRT School involves periods of high intensity work involving running, carrying extra weight and gear and long working hours. 

Location

Christ Church of the Valley
CCV 7007 W. Happy Valley Rd.
Peoria, AZ 85383

Conference Schedule

0700-0900     Registration and Vendor Show w/ Continental Breakfast

0900-0930    Opening Ceremonies, ATOA General Business Meeting and Association Updates

0930-1230      LAPD De-Briefs: Trade Joe’s HRT, Aerial Platform Shooting and SWAT Officer Down. Officer Ben Santero and Officer Rene Gonzalez – LAPD

1230-1430       Luncheon and Vendor Show

1430-1630       Las Vegas Metro SWAT De-Brief: Bus Barricade on the Strip – Officer James Rothenburg – Las Vegas Metro SWAT

FX Tactical Members Only BBQ at FX Tactical located at 8948 W Cactus Rd, Peoria, AZ 85381. The event will start at 5:30 pm with special raffle prizes and discounts offered in the store. 
 
Friday
0700-0800 Registration and Vendor Show w/ continental breakfast

0800-1100       Orange County Sheriff’s Department, CA De-Brief: Multi-faceted HRT Deployment. Sergeant Michael Perez and Deputy Shawn Riley – Orange County Sheriff’s Department SWAT.

1100-1300       Lunch on Campus with Vendor Show

1300-1500      Arizona Department of Public Safety De-Brief: ShowLow Incident. Sergeant Neil Brooks and Trooper Brandon Powell- Arizona Department of Public Safety SWAT

1500-1700 Phoenix Police Department De-Brief: TBA

The conference will be hosted in Scottsdale. Attendees will have the opportunity to attend numerous thought-provoking seminars taught by some of the leading crisis negotiations instructors in the country. Timely incident debriefs will be presented by those who were there. Join us at the Embassy Suites on Nov. 19-22, 2019 for a high-quality training event that will enhance your negotiations tactics, sharpen your leadership skills and promote professionalism in crisis negotiations.

Click here to register.

ATOA BASIC SNIPER COURSE

This basic sniper course of study covers the use of a precision rifle equipped with a telescopic sight used by officers assigned to Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams.  The course will cover weapon manipulation, principles of deployment and tactics.  Use of force considerations, legal issues, and department policies.  Students will demonstrate marksmanship, concealment/cover principles, identification techniques, and communication skills.  This course will prepare the student for their department’s qualification and standards testing, including rifle set up, wind reading, MOA/MIL, positional shooting, vehicle hides, barrier tests on glass and other mediums, DOPE to 600 yards, weapon chrono, dope cards of high-value targets, tripod intro.

This course is taught by members of the ATOA SME Committee.

Date: August 12-16, 2019

Location: Prescott Area – Range will be announced at a later time

Cost: $350 to current ATOA members, class size is limited to 20 students

Register: https://aztac.org/product/atoa-basic-sniper-course-2019-august-12-16/

POC:  Tyler Ellsworth at tyler.ellsworth@prescott-az.gov

Gear List

• 500 rounds of ammo
• rifle with sling that can hold one minute or less groups
• shooting bags
• wet weather gear
• all gear used for team deployment
• data book, range/weather meter
• eye and ear protection
• veil material
• any tools needed for your weapon/scope system

The T.E.M.S ATOA SME committee will be hosting a meet and greet for SWAT medics on August 22, 2019, from 10-12 at the Chandler Public Safety Training Center located at 3550 South Dobson Chandler, AZ.  Please feel free to stop by during that time to meet other tactical medics and receive one raffle ticket for a chance to win an ARK Active Shooter Response Kit.  Please RSVP to Aaron Wilson at (480) 980-8077 or email at aaron.wilson@chandleraz.gov.

See the attached flyer regarding an opportunity for ATOA members to attend an advanced sniper course.  The first 12 ATOA members will be eligible for a discounted rate, please contact the vendor and inform them that you are a current ATOA member to obtain the discounted registration.

Click here to register.