Secret Service Counter Assault Team

The Counter Assault Team (CAT) is a specialized tactical unit of the U.S. Secret Service that provides tactical support to the Presidential Protective Division to protect the President of the United States.[1][2] This is in contrast to the Presidential Protective Division whose mission is to shield the president from an attack and to evacuate the president to a place of safety. The CAT can also provide tactical support to other designated protectees, at venues and National Special Security Events.[1][2]

For the South Korean Counter Assault Team, see Presidential Security Service.
Counter Assault Team
Patch of the Counter Assault Team
Active1979 - present[1]
Country United States
Agency United States Secret Service
TypePolice tactical unit
RoleLaw enforcement
Operations jurisdiction
  • National
  • International
Part ofSpecial Operations Division[2][3]
AbbreviationCAT
Structure
Operators105[4]

The Secret Service first began fielding counter assault teams in 1979. "Hawkeye" is the designation for a CAT assigned to the president, followed by the president's Secret Service code name. For example, the code name for President Obama's CAT was "Hawkeye Renegade".

History

Prior to 1979, Secret Service vehicle convoys for VIPs in high-risk situations included a large sedan known as the "muscle car" in which five or six Secret Service special agents armed with sub-machine guns rode. The "muscle car" team was an ad hoc contingent drawn from special agents working at a local Secret Service office, as opposed to those regularly assigned to protective duties. They were instructed, in the event of an attack against the convoy, to lay-down a barrage of suppressive fire against the source of the attack so as to allow the dignitary's vehicle the opportunity to escape without being pursued or blockaded.[5][6][7]

In 1979 the Secret Service formalized the counter-assault team program with permanently assigned, specially trained operators.[5][6][7]

Counter Assault Team member training at the Rowley Training Center in 2018

Hawkeye

Following the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, a CAT that came to be designated "Hawkeye" was assigned to full-time presidential escort duty. According to Dan Bongino, Hawkeye has never responded to an actual armed attack.[8][5][7]

Special agents assigned to Hawkeye were implicated in the Summit of the Americas prostitution scandal in 2012.[9]

Operations

Selection and training

Members of the counter assault team are Secret Service special agents who have completed an initial, eight-month course at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, and have successfully served at least several years in the Secret Service. Upon selection, CAT operators undergo an additional seven weeks of specialized training that includes counter-ambush tactics and close quarters combat. Applications for the team are competitive and physical requirements for entry include three pull-ups wearing a 45-pound (20 kg) weighted vest and a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) run in under nine minutes. Approximately ten percent of applicants are ultimately selected.[8][10]

A motorcade during the presidency of George W. Bush with the Counter Assault Team in the vehicle in bottom right

Equipment

Typically, CAT members deploy in black battle dress uniforms. Each member not otherwise assigned a heavier weapon, is equipped with a SR-16 rifle, a SIG Sauer P229 pistol, and flash-bang grenades.[8][6]

Duties

CAT operates both as part of motorcades and at fixed sites. In the event a VIP, the VIP's vehicle, or a protected site is attacked by multiple assailants, CAT is responsible for engaging and diverting the attackers, thereby buying the close protection shift time to evacuate the dignitary to a safe area.[8]

Hawkeye, when operating as part of a U.S. president's motorcade, travels in a vehicle several car lengths behind the presidential state car.[11]

See also

References
  1. James, Nathan (September 3, 2015). Federal Tactical Teams (Report). Congressional Research Service. CRS Report for Congress, R44179.
  2. "U.S. Secret Service Counter Assault Team Tactical Recruiting Initiative" (PDF). United States Secret Service. 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  3. "United States Secret Service Presidential Transition Records" (PDF). Department of Homeland Security. 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  4. Federal Tactical Teams: Characteristics, Training, Deployments, and Inventory (PDF) (Report). United States Government Accountability Office. September 10, 2020. GAO-20-710. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  5. Emmett, Dan (2014). Within Arm's Length: A Secret Service Agent's Definitive Inside Account of Protecting the President. Macmillan. pp. 102–110. ISBN 1250044715.
  6. Kessler, Ronald (2014). The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Lives of the Presidents. Crown. ISBN 0804139229.
  7. Kessler, Ronald (2009). In the President's Secret Service. Crown. pp. 65–68. ISBN 0307461378.
  8. Nakamura, David (27 March 2014). "Everything you need to know about CAT, the Secret Service's baddest bad boys". Washington Post. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  9. Ambinder, Marc (26 March 2014). "The Secret Service has a drinking problem". The Week. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  10. "JJRTC – James J. Rowley Training Center". secretservice.gov. U.S. Secret Service. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  11. "The Presidential Motorcade". The Atlantic. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
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