I am extremely pleased with the overwhelming response we have received from officers throughout the country to our Department of Homeland Security pre-approved Immediate Action Teams (IAT) course. Agencies all over the United States and US Territories see the value of this training and are taking action. It's application to all law enforcement officers, no matter rank or divisional assignment, is widespread.

There is little doubt that the average American can quickly and accurately list the five major metropolitan areas inside the US where crime is most likely to occur. Unfortunately, most Americans and even many law enforcement officers stood back and collectively said, "I wouldn't have dreamed it could happen here" when active shooter events in schools galvanized towns like Jonesboro, AR; Pearl City, MS; West Paducah, KY; Bethel, AK and so many others since. These incidents required law enforcement to re-think our responses to active shooter events.

The concerns with schools have been exacerbated since Columbine. Other deadly shootings in schools and universities and shopping malls have kept the need for training a top priority but we cannot become myopic in our view of what a violent event looks like in a school. The events that unfolded on September 4th, 2004 in Beslan, Russia displayed to the world that children are considered legitimate targets of terrorists (although this was the case long before this event). Let us not forget Beslan, the confiscated video tapes of Al Qaeda training for school takeovers, the 300 plus terrorist attackson schools around the world or Bin Laden's statements that he will kill one million of our children.

Simply stated, at some point in the near future, another state and local law enforcement jurisdiction will have to respond to a violent attack at one of our nation's schools. It is our duty to protect the innocent from the next attack that we all know is coming. Train hard, train often and be prepared because success is not by chance.

-- Chadd Harbaugh, GTI President

When dealing with a terrorist, it may be less a matter of arrest and prosecute and more of a kill to save lives or be killed. That's why GTI's senior instructor, Peter N. Spagnolo, will present on the topic of "Re-Examining Tactical Mindset" at the Texas Tactical Police Officers Association (TTPOA) SWAT Conference. The lecture course will discuss the dynamics of SWAT operations in a terror environment, how the operator must view his enemy and how that view must impact the operation. Other sessions at the conference include "Critical Incident Management/Course of Action Matrixes," a lecture course presented by GTI instructor Steve Messer, and tactical course "Hostage Rescue Techniques," instructed by GTI's director of training Scott Gunderson.

In addition to participating in the lecture and tactical courses, GTI will exhibit at the expo.

Founded in 2003, GTI is a center of excellence for law enforcement officers and military personnel whose mission is to train the nation's first responders. GTI's staff comprises 400 years of operational military and law enforcement experience and combines traditional classroom work, research-based training and real-world field exercises to address the requirements of government and law enforcement agencies. GTI delivers more than 30 highly-specialized training programs in the fields of anti-terrorism, terrorism countermeasures, police sniper operations, specialized patrol, high-risk policing activities and a host of law enforcement and military topics relevant to the post 9/11 world.

GTI's Type III SWAT, Type II SWAT, Type I SWAT, Immediate Action Teams (IAT) Active Shooter, Basic SWAT and IED Awareness curricula are approved by the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) grant funding program. In 2008, GTI relocated its training facility from Boise, Idaho to South Carolina. The company is headquartered in Eagle, Idaho.