They draw the toughest, and often, the most dangerous assignments.  They are called into service with little notice, on any day, at any hour.  Some would say they are the elite among their law enforcement peers.  They would tell you that they are just doing a job.  They, of course, are the deputies who volunteer to serve on the Orange County Sheriff's Office Special Weapons and Tactics Team. 

The very nature of the assignemnts they are tasked with requires that deputies with aspirations to serve on the SWAT Team undergo a rigorous selection process and that they regularly and vigorously train for every possible scenario and situation that might present itself.  During 2008 the 33 man squad committed 2,314 manhours to their specialized training. 

Members of the team can be called upon to serve a series of high-risk narcotics search warrants in the morning and find themselves in the middle of an armed hostage situation later that afternoon.  Dealing with the unexpected in high-stress situations is just another day in the office for a member of the SWAT Team.

During 2008 SWAT conducted 204 search warrants, 156 of them required a forced entry.  They encounterd and recovered 138 weapons while serving those warrants.  They also responded to eight "full-response" callouts during the past year, all of which involved dangerous barricaded subjects.