More than two dozen members of the Nevada National Security Sites (NNSS) Special Response Team (SRT) and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) Homeland Security Saturation Team and SWAT Bureau teamed up in July for specialized training at the NNSS.
The NNSS Protective Force maintains 24/7 protection of the personnel, facilities, and assets spanning the Site’s 1,355 square miles. SRTs within the NNSS Protective Force are also responsible for safeguarding critical Department of Energy (DOE) assets and supplementing the Protective Force’s detection, deterrence, and interdiction missions. SRTs are comprised of individuals who have qualified to the advanced readiness standard through more stringent physical requirements and meeting higher minimum qualifications in weapons proficiency. SRT members must also successfully complete the DOE National Training Center’s Tactical Response Force II course.
While SRT training is a standard component of Protective Force readiness, Protective Force Training Manager Bill Knipper wanted to incorporate partner agencies in cross-training and incident response best practices.
“In emergency response or crisis management and all the different groups I’ve worked with onsite and off, relationships are key,” Knipper said. “Consistent learning and growth in your field comes through understanding an ever-increasing number of ways to accomplish the same goal.”
The multi-day training brought NNSS Protective Force and LVMPD Homeland Security team members together for classroom training and exercises at the Site’s live fire shoot house and new indoor firing range, which enables simulations of thousands of scenarios featuring real-time live fire or less-than-lethal responses in day or night conditions. In addition to honing breeching and marksmanship techniques, the forum offered insights to each agency’s tactical approaches, organizational structures and unique requirements.
Most importantly, it offered the opportunity for hands-on collaboration and professional discussion among specialized teams in Southern Nevada’s protective force network.
“This training provided our team with a critical opportunity to strengthen bonds with regional partners and forge new relationships within the tactical community,” said Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Acting Deputy Chief Bryan Peterson. “Exposure to the tactics employed by another agency not only broadened our perspective, but also reinforced the importance of operational continuity across agencies.”
Knipper concurred and plans to continue multi-agency training among the organizations on an annual basis.
“The people of any jurisdiction should have faith and trust in their protectors,” he said. “The faith and trust are reciprocated by the protectors training as intensely as possible to be at the absolute top of their game.”