Is a swat peronel as highly trained as an average soldier or better?

Answer 1

SWAT training is very different from that of a Soldier. Some key examples:

* Soldiers are trained for combat operations, which are greatly different from armed intervention to stop a threat to public safety, if for no other reason than combat involves the use of deadly force as a FIRST resort, not a last one. * SWAT units tend to focus on confined spaces, close-quarters engagement, and light weapons, while military personnel train for a variety of battle environments, use heavy weapons, and are generally built on large-scale applications of force. Small Unit tactics are important to a soldier, but they are only part of a much larger picture * SWAT tactics are much more closely related to special forces tactics than typical infantry strategies. * Soldiers are generally not in a position of trying to apprehend an enemy and often rate their success by the amount of enemy forces that have been destroyed, and will choose higher enemy casualties if it keeps their own troops safer. SWAT officers' first goal is to resolve situations peacefully, even when it means putting themselves at increased risk. Generally, trying to compare soldiers to police is very much an "apples and Oranges" scenario, because the enforcement of law and the prosecution of a war are simply not similar enough to form a valid parallel.

There are many SWAT officers who are no doubt in better shape, better shots, and better-versed in small-unit tactics than most "Grunts", however in unrestricted combat, there are also many soldiers who would have distinct advantages over most SWAT officers.