Suggested Searches

2 min read

Emergency Response Team Places in Top 10 at Annual SWAT Round-Up International Competition

The headshot image of Linda Herridge

Linda Herridge

Dec 11, 2019
Article
ERT team members prepare to break through a barricade at the 2019 SWAT Round-Up International in Orlando, Florida.
Members of NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Emergency Response Team prepare to break through a barricade during one of the tactical challenges at the 37th Annual SWAT Round-Up International at the Lawson Lamar Firearms and Tactical Training Center in Orlando, Florida. The competition was held Nov. 10 to 15, 2019. Credits: NASA/Frank Michaux

By Linda Herridge
NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center

NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) members finished in the top 10 overall during the 37th Annual SWAT Round-Up International at the Lawson Lamar Firearms and Tactical Training Center in Orlando. A team of eight of Kennedy’s ERT members competed during the Round-Up held Nov. 10-15, 2019.

The team competed in five tactical challenges that were physically and mentally demanding: hostage rescue/barricade operations; officer/citizen rescue operations; high levels of physical fitness and proficiency with multiple weapons systems; use-of-force decision-making and positive target identification; and a thorough understanding of SWAT tactics and principles.

ERT members keep up their skills by training on a regular basis. They train at the center’s NASA Protective Services Training Facility, which includes multiple shooting ranges, a rappel tower and a live-fire shoot house that provide a challenging environment for the team to test and update the skills necessary to be prepared for any threat.

An Emergency Response Team member takes at a target during the sharpshooter tactical challenge at the annual SWAT Round-Up.
A member of NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Emergency Response Team takes aim at a target during the sharpshooter tactical challenge at the 37th Annual SWAT Round-Up International at the Lawson Lamar Firearms and Tactical Training Center in Orlando, Florida on Nov. 13, 2019. Credits: NASA/Frank Michaux

“The ERT’s top priority is to ensure the safety of all Kennedy employees and the tens of thousands of tourists that visit the center and the visitor complex each year,” said Nathaniel Moore, Emergency Response Team commander with Chenega Infinity LLC. “We conduct weekly shift level training and full team training sessions annually to maintain proficiencies in tactical responses to all types of high risk incidents.”

These risks include active shooter scenarios, hostage rescue scenarios and barricaded gunmen scenarios. The ERT attends nationally recognized training conferences and seminars, including the SWAT Round-Up International training conference and competition.

During the Round-Up, ERT members also engaged in specialized training and operational debriefs, met to discuss common issues and challenges facing law enforcement, compared training and operational methods, and continued to build on relationships with neighboring agencies that can support each other during real-life critical incidents.

They competed with more than 50 teams from the U.S. and around the world. International competitors included teams from Brazil, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Jamaica and the United Arab Emirates.

An ERT member moves along a rope above water during the annual SWAT Round-Up International.
A member of NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Emergency Response Team switches position as he works his way along a rope above water during one of the tactical challenges at the 37th Annual SWAT Round-Up International. Credits: NASA/Frank Michaux

Some of the family members of the ERT team attended to help support and cheer them on during the challenges.

“It is rare that family members have the opportunity to watch SWAT officers train,” said ERT Lieutenant Clint Knowles. “It is always cool to see the kids out here supporting their mother or father and the law enforcement community.”