From a Navy SEAL to SWAT officer?

Whilst i agree that no dount this is true. Why would they do this, who does it help?
- not the person with better training, he is wasted waiting for so long.
- not the agency, they could use the experience and undoubted ability.
- not the public, who would be that bit safer having a better trained and more diverse individual in the job where he can use those skills.

equal oppoptunity it may be but fair it is not..

First thing to keep in mind is that SWAT is NOT a full-time position in most agencies. In most of them, it is a collateral duty. They work every day in traffic, patrol, canine etc and do SWAT training afterwards, responding to call-outs when needed.

Second, SWAT cops are still COPS. They need to learn what street goes where, how the law is applied on the street (as opposed to the academy) etc. They need to know people, know who does what and who the players are.

Third, SWAT and SEAL/SF/Ranger etc training are not interchangable. I've seen cops who never served a day in the military that could outshoot most people I've seen in SF. Almost anyone can learn to rapel and move tacticly, but the mindset is somewhat different. SWAT cops need to be continuously aware of libility, legal restraints etc much more than a SEAL or SF trooper.

Lastly, some former military have difficulty transitioning into law enforcement if they can't adjust their thinking. I remember watching a USMC veteran, 6 months onto the job, grab a 17 year old by the throat and nearly choke him. His reasoning: "I am a veteran. I fought for my country. No teenage punk is going to talk to me that way". Having been in both the military and law enforcement, I can say there are many similarities in the mindset, but there are some big differences.

I guess it's concievable that someone could be LAPD SWAT in their mid to late 20's, Hollywood is fond of showing us people in very advanced places at very young ages. Just makes the rest of our lives look more boring. I did some time in law enforcement before going back to school. While I'm sure it's possible that a former SEAL might get some fast tracking to a specialized unit the reality is that depending on how the department's hiring procedures go it may be 6 months to a year from the time of applying to actually going to work. (It took the Sheriff about 3-4 months to hire me but another 3 months before putting me to work, go figure!! It took the US Border Patrol 18 months of processing to offer me a job which I ultimately declined) You then have to go through an academy, say 6 months, then a field training officer program, which is several more months, then the offcer might be signed off to work alone but still be on a probationary period. After that you are looking at several years of patrol work before moving to something else. You are probably looking at quite some time to make SWAT.