Hostage Rescue Team

The Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) is the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) elite tactical unit. The HRT was formed to provide a full-time federal law enforcement tactical capability to respond to major terrorist incidents throughout the United States. Today, the HRT performs a number of tactical law enforcement and national security functions in high-risk environments and conditions and has deployed overseas, including with military Joint Special Operations Command units. The HRT, along with the Crisis Negotiation Unit (CNU), the SWAT Operations Unit that manages the field office SWAT program, and the Tactical Helicopter Unit (THU), comprise the Tactical Section of the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG). The Hostage Rescue Team was founded in 1983 by Danny Coulson, former Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI, and completed its final certification exercise in October 1983. The HRT was originally conceived during the late 1970s and was set up after FBI director William H. Webster witnessed a demonstration by the U.S. Army's Delta Force but when Webster reviewed the equipment used by the Delta Force and noticed there were no handcuffs, he inquired about it. An operator replied, "We put two rounds in their forehead. The dead don't need handcuffs." The HRT was originally to be an augmented SWAT and counter-terrorist team, capable of handling extraordinary hostage situations, large-scale counter-terrorist operations, situations involving nuclear or biological agents, or operations that local law enforcement or the regional FBI field office were not trained or equipped to handle. Final approval for the HRT was given in early 1982, and formal planning began in March that year. The initial HRT selection course was held in June 1982 and consisted of three groups of 30 candidates each. Most candidates were experienced SWAT team members and former military veterans including former Navy SEAL Thomas R. Norris. Of this group, 50 candidates were selected to continue to more advanced training.