Special Agent Man: My Life in the FBI as a Terrorist Hunter, Helicopter Pilot, and Certified Sniper by Moore Steve

Author:Moore, Steve
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Published: 2012-10-12T16:00:00+00:00

10

SWAT and Other Bad Habits

I HAVE LONG believed that the FBI should not be considered a single career but rather multiple careers sharing the same retirement system. In January 1996 I began what I consider to be my third FBI career. Without a shadow of a doubt, it was the most rewarding, most difficult, and most challenging time of my life. But I said that during each of my FBI careers. Either way, I was in heaven. But this time, heaven almost cost me everything I valued. And it did so in the most insidious ways.

Returning to the office, though, was a series of pleasant surprises. First, I had a predictable schedule, which had been completely absent in the Aviation Unit. It’s funny how the mind works; you always seem to want what you don’t have. Somebody who has commuted to work and back during rush hour for a decade despises his “rut,” wishing for variety. Someone who has had variety for nine years prays for predictability.

Arriving at the office that first day in my crisp new suit and tie, wearing my gun on my hip for the first time in years, I noted that the Bureau had changed significantly. There were multiline phones on each desk, as well as a computer. Wow, I didn’t expect that. The FBI had gotten into the computer world, and my learning curve was going to be steep. But I was surprised at how quickly I got back into the swing of things. The time I had spent at Point Mugu turned out to be unexpectedly valuable. Because of the high priority of the cases I had worked at Point Mugu, I had learned what made the Bureau tick, how to improvise to overcome bureaucracy, and how to get things done in spite of headquarters. Though I hadn’t been “in the office” for years, I found that I hadn’t missed a beat and in some ways had learned more than I would have at a desk.

For the first time, I was routinely assigned great cases. Better cases than I had ever had. I reveled in the simple tasks that I had so long ago tried to learn. I seemed to have boundless energy for my cases. But what I really wanted to do was join SWAT.

In the Bureau, there are opportunities for secondary “team” assignments—SWAT, the Evidence Response Team (think CSI), the Hostage Negotiation Team, etc. It gives the job variety and makes each participant more capable. Most agents take advantage of the opportunity, but some agents, including full-time pilots, are not allowed to participate in these programs, because it takes away from essential duties. Now that I was out of the Aviation Unit, I was finally going to get a chance to at least try out for the team. For several months I had been working out, lifting weights and running every day, preparing for the SWAT tryouts. When the day came, I was ready. I had to be—I was almost a decade older than the rest of the candidates.

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