Texas Parks and Wildlife Has SWAT-Like Team With Military-Style Weapons

Texas Parks and Wildlife Has SWAT-Like Team With Military-Style Weapons
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Texas Parks and Wildlife

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Law Enforcement Division has added a special 25-man team to their law enforcement arsenal.

The SWAT-like team can deploy to anywhere within the state in only four hours.

According to Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine, their missions include: crime scene reconstruction, diving searches, solving boat thefts, search and rescue, border operations and even hostage situations.

The team has 564 boats, which include a 65-foot gulf patrol ship and gunboats with machine guns, adds the Dallas Observer.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Executive Director Carter Smith refers to the fleet as the "Texas Navy," which harkens back to the 1830s and 1840s.

“As the Texas Navy, our game wardens and the vessels they operate have an important role in maintaining the state’s maritime security, in addition to their day-to-day work in enforcing our conservation laws,” said Smith. “The training the wardens will receive by way of this accreditation will make these men and women and our coast-wide fleet even more effective.”

The so-called "Texas Navy" has been trained in tactical boat operations, pursuit, detecting radiation and nuclear bombs.

“The county game warden is still our bread and butter,” added Law Enforcement Special Operations Chief Grahame Jones. “They look for game and fish law violations, do community outreach and assist with community policing. The teams we’ve set up enhance what we offer the people of Texas without diminishing the role of the local game warden.”

Sources: Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine and Dallas Observer

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