The minimum qualifications for the team include: ( Source) Applicants are required to be highly experienced and seasoned individuals with relevant skills in order to be considered for selection. Selection for the HRT is akin to that of many US special operations forces. Their operational composition changes depending on the parameters of the mission. The FBI HRT can work alongside essentially any special operations team or special task force, be it domestic or abroad. In addition to their internal organization, their tactical composition may change depending on their mission and what other teams they are working with. Within these teams are specialists that draw from the myriad of disciplines that HRT utilizes, such as assaulting, sniping, hostage rescue, counterterrorism and counter-hijack operations. ( Source) According to the available information on team composition, they have two operating teams: Gold Team and Blue Team. FBI HRT OrganizationĪs of January 2020, there are a total of 149 full-time duty team members on the HRT. It would begin to, and to this day still does, operate alongside other US forces, in addition to its domestic security purpose. The attacks on 9/11 would further raise the importance of counter-terror teams, and would vastly expand the scope of HRT beyond the domestic realm. Since it has become a component of CIRG, it operates alongside other US defence and law enforcement elements as a rapid response tactical team.

In 1994, it became a component of the Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG). ( Source) Delta Force in particular was an important factor in the formation of the HRT, with the tactical skill of Delta motivating the FBI to have a team of equivalent calibre. Since its inception and initial deployment in 1983 and 84’, HRT has expanded its technical skills by training alongside other teams. ( Source) It culminated in the conducting of a practice anti-terror drill where HRT countered a nuclear terror threat alongside SWAT and the FBI’s Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST). Such training involved the creation of shoothouses, exploration of theoretical tactical situations, rapid responsiveness to hostage situations and coordination with other FBI elements such as their regional SWAT teams. ( Source) In 1983, the HRT officially completed its extensive training. When the US was selected to host the 1984 Olympics, the FBI was tasked with creating a team that could perform counterterror operations and prevent a similar hostage situation. During a shootout with German authorities, all hostages and terrorists were killed. During the 1972 Olympics, Palestinian terrorists kidnapped nine Israeli athletes after killing two others. The team itself was born in the aftermath of the 19 Olympics. The HRT was founded in response to the rapidly evolving nature of global security, and threats posed to the US both domestically and in a foreign setting. Their skills in close combat, sniping, room clearing and rapid breaching are combined with their extreme mobility and adaptability to make them an elite tool for the FBI. They utilize the tactics of many other US special operations groups, training alongside groups such as Delta Force and the FBI’s regional SWAT teams. The HRT specializes in being one of the most rapid response components of the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group, being able to respond to hostage and terror situations, primarily in a domestic setting.

The purpose of the HRT is multifaceted given its variety of disciplines, but primarily it is the FBI’s main counter-terror and hostage rescue unit. Its purpose is to rapidly respond to and solve critical situations pertaining to hostage rescue and domestic terror. Known for its motto Servare Vitas, To Save Lives, its speciality in hostage rescue and counter-terror operations makes it the foremost and most effective team at the disposal of the FBI. The FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) is the Bureau’s response to increased hostage-taking and terrorist attacks within the US. The various special mission units of the US military’s Joint Special Operations Command are the tools which the US uses to bring fight against terrorist organizations abroad.ĭomestically, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is responsible for preventing and combating terrorism within the borders of the US. The world is constantly changing, over the past 50 years the proliferation of non-state actors has made small teams of highly specialized elite soldiers a must-have for every military on the planet. The FBI HRT (Hostage Rescue Team), is the United States’ premiere hostage rescue team and was founded with the help of Delta Force aka Combat Applications Group (CAG) and sometimes referred to as “Domestic Delta”.

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