Hostage Rescue Team
The Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) is the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) elite tactical unit. The HRT was formed to provide a full-time federal law enforcement tactical capability to respond to major terrorist incidents throughout the United States. Today, the HRT performs a number of tactical law enforcement and national security functions in high-risk environments and conditions and has deployed overseas, including with military Joint Special Operations Command units.
| Hostage Rescue Team | |
|---|---|
Patch of the Hostage Rescue Team | |
| Active | August 1983 – present |
| Country | United States |
| Agency | Federal Bureau of Investigation |
| Type | Police tactical unit |
| Role | |
| Part of | Critical Incident Response Group |
| Headquarters | Quantico, Virginia, U.S. |
| Motto | Servare Vitas "To save lives" |
| Abbreviation | HRT |
| Structure | |
| Operators | 149 (2020) |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
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The HRT, along with the Crisis Negotiation Unit (CNU), the SWAT Operations Unit that manages the field office SWAT program, and the Tactical Helicopter Unit (THU), comprise the Tactical Section of the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG). The Hostage Rescue Team was founded in 1983 by Danny Coulson, former Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI, and completed its final certification exercise in October 1983.