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2003 Tactical Competition

On September 20, 2003 the SRT held a tactical team competition which consisted of tactical firearms course, room clearing/building entry, a timed obstacle course run and a rapid shooting firearms event.  Ten teams from across Ohio and Kentucky competed in the one-day competition.  The results of the competition were first place - Medina County Tactical Team, second place - Fort Knox Military Police and third place - Delaware County Tactical Unit.

To receive a copy of the 2003 tactical team competition video on CD, please e-mail ccno@bright.net and request a copy. 

The 2004 tactical team competition is tentatively scheduled for the latter part of September.  Any teams interested in participating should contact CCNO SRT Commander Craig Eiden at (419) 428-3800 extension 203.

Commander Eiden had an article regarding the 2003 tactical team competition published in The Tactical Edge Winter 2004 edition.  The content of the article follows:

A homegrown competition in rural Ohio

The Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio is a regional jail located in Williams County in the northwest corner of Ohio and our Special Response Team serves the counties of Defiance, Henry, Fulton, Williams, Lucas and the city of Toledo.  Our team is primarily corrections in nature, however, the majority of our training crosses into law enforcement.  We train to be readily available to local law enforcement in the five county area.  As the SRT team commander, I am always looking for avenues to expand our knowledge and experiences.  I wanted to know how good our team was compared to other teams in Ohio.  I wondered if the training that I was providing gave them skills necessary to stand up against other teams.  Team members attend training outside the agency, but I wanted to see other teams in action.

In Spring 2001, I began considering the idea of hosting a tactical team competition.  We read about competitions taking place in California and Florida, however, being from rural northwest Ohio, our budget doesn't extend us the luxury of attending one of these competitions.  Therefore, if we wanted to be a part of a competition, we needed to host our own.

After considering the notion of hosting a competition, I put together some ideas and pitched the proposal to Jim Dennis, CCNO's executive director and Dennis Sullivan, CCNO's director of security.  I needed to sell my idea and obtain their support.  Fortunately, both are open-minded and they enthusiastically supported the project.  One of the focal points was the demand for such an event.  We were concerned that we would spend a great deal of time planning the event only to end up canceling due to the lack of interest. Before we decided to jump in headfirst, we sent out a teletype to all criminal justice departments in Ohio.  Almost immediately we were receiving inquiries, and in the end, we had to turn teams down.  It was obvious the demand supported our venture.

We started by developing a list of events.  Several years ago, we built a confidence/obstacle course in a heavily wooded area behind our facility, which we decided to use as our first event.  This would be scored entirely on team time with penalties for uncompleted obstacles.

We then decided to have a firearms event.  During this event, teams would first approach a barricade, stack up utilizing their cover and then move around the barricade engaging targets with their sidearm.  Teams would then regroup, reload and complete the remainder of the firearms event individually utilizing their sidearm and shotgun.  The scores for both the team and individual firearms events would be totaled together for an overall score.

Finally, we decided on a room clearing/building entry event.  The room clearing/building entry would be done in a three-story building used by the fire department for training.  Teams would be required to make two different entries.  One would be a hostage rescue scenario and the other would be a high risk warrant service.  For a more realistic approach, each team member, as well as the hostile actor on the inside, would be equipped with firearms utilizing Simunition cartridges.  Scores would be based on hits/misses, team casualties and entry techniques.  Booby traps were also included to add to the realistic nature of the situation.  This event would be judged by two experienced evaluators.

Registration Decisions

After we decided on the specific events and how we wanted them done, we decided that we would only accept the first eight teams to register.  We could have had more, but we wanted to keep things as small as possible.  If things went well, we would consider expanding the events and teams the following year.

We originally decided to allow both corrections and law enforcement to compete.  However, due to the quick response from teams, the entire composition, with us being the exception, ended up being law enforcement SWAT teams.  We have assisted outside the facility on many different occasions.  Most recently we provided security as front line arrest teams for a KKK rally.  We were the only agency that actually drilled in crowd control.  Our training paid off.

We held our first competition in September 2001.  The competition went extremely well and I got the answers that I was originally looking for.  How would our team stand up against other teams?  I found out that for the most part we were doing the right things.  From the competition I was able to identify training issues. During the next year, a great deal of our training centered on deficiencies that appeared from the first competition.

Also new for the 2002 competition were the judges.  In order to get some fresh ideas and thoughts, we invited team commanders to assist in the competition.  Many were asked to supply ideas for changes and improvements.  Many of these individuals then assisted by judging specific events.  This change helped to make the competition more rewarding for everyone involved and added objectivity also.

I can't stress enough the importance of realistic competition when done correctly.  Competition has a way of bringing out the best in everyone and can be a great morale booster for everyone involved.  Even teams that finished toward the bottom left with a positive impression and a desire to come back the next year and improve their performance.

If any of you have the same question that I originally had, I suggest you participate in a tactical team competition or bite the bullet and host your own.  There is a great deal to learn from such an event.  Identifying training deficiencies is very valuable.  It's better to find it out now than during an actual tactical situation.

This site was updated on May 19, 2010