Hostage Rescue Team

Not to be confused with FBI Special Weapons and Tactics Teams.
Hostage Rescue Team
Patch of the Hostage Rescue Team
ActiveAugust 1983 (1983-08) – present[1]
Country United States
AgencyFederal Bureau of Investigation
TypePolice tactical unit
Role
Operations jurisdiction
  • National
  • International
Part ofCritical Incident Response Group
HeadquartersQuantico, Virginia, U.S.
MottoServare Vitas
"To save lives"
AbbreviationHRT
Structure
Operators149 (2020)[2]
Commanders
Notable
commanders

The Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) is the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) elite tactical unit.[9][10] The HRT was formed to provide a full-time federal law enforcement tactical capability to respond to major terrorist incidents throughout the United States.[9] 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 (JSOC) units.[11] In an article to mark its 40th anniversary, it was reported that since its formation in 1983 the HRT had deployed more than 900 times.[12]

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).[13] 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.[14]

  1. ^ "Timeline - FBI". FBI.
  2. ^ Federal Tactical Teams: Characteristics, Training, Deployments, and Inventory (PDF) (Report). GAO-20-710. United States Government Accountability Office. September 10, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-07-08. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  3. ^ "REPORT TO THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL ON THE EVENTS AT WACO, TEXAS: THE FBI'S MANAGEMENT OF THE STANDOFF AT MT. CARMEL". 15 September 2014. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Roger Nisley '67". Archived from the original on 2023-05-02. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  5. ^ "James F. Yacone Named Assistant Director of the Critical Incident Response Group". Archived from the original on 2023-05-02. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Kevin R. Cornelius Named Special Agent in Charge of Cincinnati Division". Archived from the original on 2021-10-29. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  7. ^ "FBI Integrity Project Advisors". Archived from the original on 2023-05-02. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  8. ^ "David Sundberg Named Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Field Office". Archived from the original on 2023-05-02. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  9. ^ a b "The Hostage Rescue Team: 30 Years of Service". Federal Bureau of Investigation. February 1, 2013.
  10. ^ "FBI Hostage Rescue Team: An Inside Look" (PDF). Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  11. ^ Goldman, Adam; Tate, Julie (10 April 2014). "Inside the FBI's secret relationship with the military's special operations". The Washington Post. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  12. ^ "HRT: 40 Years of Saving Lives". HRTA: Hostage Rescue Team Association. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  13. ^ "CIRG - FBI". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  14. ^ "The Hostage Rescue Team: 30 Years of Service". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 2023-03-18. Since the first generation of HRT operators were trained in 1983, team members have deployed domestically and around the globe nearly 800 times, putting themselves in harm's way to help safeguard the nation and to save lives.