[furryclan] tactics

Dynamic entry as a team - [GhostRider]

When doing room entries, there are two ways to enter, the Crossover and the Buttonhook. Assuming the team are stacked to the left of a door:

  1. The Crossover
    The officer "crosses over" the doorway entering from the left and covering and searching the right.

  2. The Buttonhook
    The officer enters and "buttonhooks", entering from the left and covering and searching left.

When doing a dynamic entry, it is best if more than two officers enter. In New Mexico, SWAT teams have more than a five man element, sometimes having as many as twelve men enter a building, depending on the situation and building layout.

Entry

When entering, the first man will work his way down the opposite wall, after crossing over. You sweep down the wall and then turn 90 degrees down the end wall, that way having cleared any hiding spots before you turn and put them on to your flank. The second man buttonhooks and clears down the near wall, then turning 90 degrees also. The third man would clear into the middle of the room. Since you may run into unexpected things, like doors that need to be covered or suspects that need to be covered, you may need to call for more help. Using custom chat, "I need a backup" here can help.

In the end, there should only be one or two officers left outside the door covering the hallway or wherever you came from. If it is a really large room to clear, then they may all want to enter so the rearguard can cover the single door rather than trying to cover two directions at once.

The idea behind sweeping down a wall is so you don't put an uncovered area behind you or on to your flank. The more bizarre the room layout, the harder that is. It's here that people put large pieces of furniture that can be hidden behind, and it's here you will find closet doors etc.

Getting to the reason you should not stop when entering... You need to leave room for your fellow officers to get in before they all get killed. A doorway is a "fatal funnel". For the suspect, he's gonna know you are coming. He doesn't need to search for you, he knows you'll come in through the door. All he has to do is set up on the door and wait. When he does finally react to you entering, all he's gonna do is shoot at whatever comes through the door. If you get out of the way so your team can enter, you have a better chance of not getting everyone killed. In real life, this is how most officers are injured or killed doing entries. Besides, it's harder for the suspect to hit a moving target. If he keys in on and starts shooting at the first guy, who is sweeping down one of the walls, one of the follow on officers will get a clear shot and kill him.

Fields of fire

One thing to be aware of is fields of fire. If these tactics are not followed properly, you could find yourself at one corner of the room, while your partner is at the other corner opposite you. If there is a suspect in the middle, you could get into a crossfire situation. I have noticed many times in the game where officers are not aware of the concept of fields of fire and often engage while in a crossfire situation.

Example

As an example of this entry, consider "The Church" level in the upstairs living room. When the element enters from the "breezeway", they would stack left of the door. They would go through the C2 and bang scenario as [furrycat] described.

The first officer would enter and sweep to the right side, down the wall. The first thing he would encounter is the stairs. He would need to cover those stairs and the door above as a threat area.

The second man would enter and sweep down the wall of bookcases on the left, toward the corner. When reaching the corner, he would turn 90 degrees right. This gives him clear view and field of fire to the entire far side of the room, behind the furniture.

The third man would enter and follow down the right wall, toward the closet and hall door.

The fourth man would enter and clear toward the middle of the room.

Each man would need to be aware of where his teammates are and where they are covering to avoid crossfire.

[furryclan] are committed to shaking up "standard" SWAT 3 tactics. Real SWAT elements don't stroll nonchalantly up to every doorway and mirror it. Not once the cat's out of the bag. When the action kicks off these guys move fast. So do we.

Introductory notes

Movies

Positions and assignments

Tactical discussions