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C-SWAT training is the result of the combined efforts of both Marine and SEAL team instructors who designed an intense field of training for the most elite force of its time. C-SWAT operatives must be intelligent, strong and courageous individuals who have the ability to think quickly on their feet and respond at a moment’s notice to threatening situations. They must be well conditioned to the rigors of combat at all times and in top physical shape. They must be emotionally and mentally sound individuals, able to function in highly stressful environments while always remaining professional and steadfast.
C-SWAT is the ultimate tactical force that can be called upon in nearly every major city in the United States. Their training is extremely rigorous and focuses heavily on combat, preparing them to handle any situation requiring full tactical response. A strict physical fitness test is administered to any and all individuals applying for a position within C-SWAT, and an extensive background check is carried out. A written test is given in order to determine an individual’s ability to think, learn and remember, and an interview with a psychologist is organized to evaluate an individual’s mental resources and their potential toward mental breakdown under high levels of stress and cyber augmentation. Anyone unable to pass any of the phases of the evaluation are turned away, although they may return the following year to try again.
The minimum stats for anyone within C-SWAT are as follows:
- INT 5
- BODY 4
- EMP 5 (before cybernetics)
Anyone with stats lower than those listed above are weeded out during the extensive evaluation process before training begins. In general, any serious felony convictions will prevent someone from getting accepted. There are rumors that some C-SWAT operatives are prior ex-convicts, but these are all false.
Applications for C-SWAT are available at any police precinct that has an active unit. All testing is administered through the precinct under a strict set of federal guidelines. Once all testing is complete, less than 10% of all individuals who initially apply are accepted.
C-SWAT training takes place at Camp Ellis, North Carolina, which is located on the coast near the northeast corner of the state. Its 68 square miles contains swamps, beaches, woods, grasslands, desert, mountains, and a 3 square mile urban environment. It is here where all successful applicants are sent for their initial training, which lasts a total of 32 weeks. All trainees are given the rank of Private and are organized into platoons of 40 men under the direction of three Combat Instructors, usually Corporals and Sergeants.
 The first sixteen weeks of training are designed to focus primarily on conditioning the body to the rigors of combat, the basics of firing a wide array of weapons, and combat tactics. Platoons are, at times, kept active and awake for up to 72 hours straight while only being given a limited amount of food. They run a multitude of obstacle courses that stress physical strength and teamwork and are taught how best to fire their weapons quickly and accurately under a variety of stressful conditions. The platoons are put through class after class teaching tactics for large and small groups, as well as for an individual, and they are given multiple scenarios where they choose their own tactical response and carry it out, often against others in their platoon, and sometimes against the instructors themselves. Functioning under stress is a major focus in this phase of training, and instructors will do anything they can to put a great deal of stress on their platoons, be it shouting and firing a weapon while Privates are trying to take a written test or placing fire ants on their bare skin while they are qualifying on the firing range. It is the responsibility of the Combat Instructors during this phase to weed out any individuals that don’t have what it takes. Combat Instructors are allowed to strike their platoon members as punishment and injuring them is totally acceptable, as long as it is for the purpose of training. Those that end up leaving usually do so within the first two weeks of training, and by the end of the first phase, usually only 70% of a platoon’s original number still remain.
 The second and final phase of training consists of the platoon moving across the base in order to separate them from those still in the first phase. Physical training is still rigorously carried out, but stress levels are reduced significantly. Training is turned to focus on urban combat, target acquisition, hostage situations, hand to hand combat, the law and its enforcement.
Upon graduation, Privates are promoted to Privates First Class and Field Specialties are announced, based on choices that were made by the Privates four weeks prior to graduation. All graduates automatically receive fourteen days of leave before they are to report to their designated Field Specialty school.
Surveillance Technicians and Combat Medics are specialties that require training and/or experience prior to C-SWAT due to the tremendous amount of time that is required for training those fields. At least 3 years of specialized training (college or technical school) or an equivalent amount of time work experience is required and a thorough examination on the subject must be passed in order to qualify for C-SWAT. In some cases, depending on how much of a need there is for those specialties, certain parts of initial training are waived for Medics and Surveillance Techs in order to all but assure their graduation. For this reason, Medics and Surveillance Techs sometimes find themselves more isolated from their teammates and must work twice as hard to gain acceptance. Their Field Specialty training consists only of review of what they already must know and a focus on utilizing their skills in combat.
Once Field Specialty training is complete, operatives are assigned to C-SWAT units based on their personal preference and where operatives are most needed. Requests for transfer to another C-SWAT unit must be approved by all higher ranks, clear up to the unit’s Commanding Officer. The transfer is then made as soon as there is an opening within the unit for that operative’s specialty and/or rank. Commanding Officers can also transfer their operatives to different units on their own recognizance, but this is extremely rare due to the fact that once a SPAR team is experienced and its operatives are used to working together, it is best to keep that team together. Transferring someone new in is like making the team start over until the new operative gets used to working with the team and vice versa. For this reason, transfers are not usually well accepted, but they are fairly common.
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