giving back through
Research
UK professor’s work aims to better
prepare SWAT members for job
T
he sound of gunfire would briefly halt conversation
as Dr. Mark Abel and his students discussed the
progress of their research.
They were on-site at a firing range and practice
course to work with members of a special weapons
and tactics team (commonly known as “SWAT”).
On this December day, clouds of breath could be
seen in the frosty air as SWAT team members moved
through obstacles to simulate high-risk scenarios.
They paused on the course only to fire weapons at
targets and drag heavily weighted mock-victims to
safety.
A college professor since 2006, Abel’s job after high
school was as a firefighter. He has combined that
passion with his academic career to provide research
and service to firefighters, campus police officers
and urban SWAT units.
“Tactical personnel place themselves in harm’s way
to protect our families,” Abel said. “Collaborating
with these groups to enhance their safety provides
me with an opportunity to give back to them.”
Tactical gear designed to protect them can be a
constraint to the men and women on a SWAT team,
who move efficiently and with precision. That’s
why Abel’s current study is looking at the effect of
load carriage (tactical gear) on lower back stress and
tactical performance (work efficiency and shooting
accuracy). The study will determine which fitness
characteristics are associated with a change in work
performance due to the gear.
Abel’s research allows graduate students working
with him to enter the worlds of some of safety and
law enforcement officials’ most skilled operations.
Students positioned around the perimeter of the
SWAT course used stopwatches to clock their
movements. Others were charged with collecting
blood samples and body measurements from
subjects. Master’s students Jason Keeler and
Matt Thomas are the primary investigators for
two projects with the SWAT team. They were
positioned on a perch overlooking the practice
course.
“This position allowed me a bird’s-eye view of the
firing range and all tasks involved in the obstacle
course,” Thomas said. “It was important that I
clearly see the officers during the entirety of the
course in order to accurately time each task.”
The “obstacle course” is referred to as a Simulated
Tactical Test (STT).
“It includes many of the possible movements and
scenarios that a SWAT officer could encounter in a
typical call-out such as scaling a wall, firing a rifle
from a kneeling position behind cover, crawling
under an obstacle, or dragging a fellow officer or
civilian out of harm’s way,” Thomas said.
By precisely identifying how the equipment affects
the SWAT operators, the research team will provide
recommendations for exercise programs to better
prepare for the demands of the equipment and
job. Plus, they can provide suggestions on how to
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