The Counter Assault Team (CAT) is a specialized tactical unit of the U.S. Secret Service that provides tactical support to the Presidential Protective Division to protect the

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. This is in contrast to the Presidential Protective Division whose mission is to shield the president from an attack and to evacuate them to a place of safety. The CAT can also provide tactical support to other designated protectees, at venues and National Special Security Events. The Secret Service first began fielding counter assault teams in 1979. "Hawkeye" is the designation for a CAT assigned to the president, followed by the president's Secret Service code name. For example, the code name for President Obama's CAT was "Hawkeye Renegade".

History

Before 1979, Secret Service vehicle convoys for VIPs in high-risk situations included a large sedan known as the "

muscle car A muscle car is an American-made two-door sports coupe with a powerful engine, marketed for its performance. In 1949, General Motors introduced its 88 with the company's OHV Rocket V8 engine, which was previously available only in its lux ...

" in which five or six Secret Service special agents armed with sub-machine guns rode. The "muscle car" team was an ad hoc contingent drawn from special agents working at a local Secret Service office, as opposed to those regularly assigned to protective duties. They were instructed, in the event of an attack against the convoy, to lay down a barrage of

suppressive fire In military science, suppressive fire is "fire that degrades the performance of an enemy force below the level needed to fulfill its mission". When used to protect exposed friendly troops advancing on the battlefield, it is commonly called cover ...

against the source of the attack so as to allow the dignitary's vehicle the opportunity to escape without being pursued or blockaded. In 1979, the Secret Service formalized the counter-assault team program with permanently assigned, specially trained operators. Counter Assault Team member at Rowley Training Center in 2018

Counter Assault Team member at Rowley Training Center in 2018

Hawkeye

Following the

attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan On March 30, 1981, Ronald Reagan, the President of the United States, was shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, D.C., as Reagan was returning to his limousine after a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton hotel. Hinckley ...

in 1981, a CAT that came to be designated "Hawkeye" was assigned to full-time presidential escort duty. In 2012, special agents assigned to Hawkeye were implicated in the Summit of the Americas prostitution scandal.

Operations

Selection and training

Members of the counter-assault team are Secret Service special agents who have completed an initial eight-month course at the

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC; pronounced ) is a law enforcement training school under the United States Department of Homeland Security, serving 105 federal law enforcement agencies within the United States federal governm ...

in Glynco, Georgia, and have successfully served several years in the Secret Service. Upon selection, CAT operators undergo an additional seven weeks of specialized training, including in counter-ambush tactics and close quarters combat. Applications to join the team are competitive, and physical requirements for entry include the demonstrated ability to do three pull-ups wearing a weighted vest and to complete a run in under nine minutes. Approximately ten percent of applicants are ultimately selected. USSS_CAT_Bush

Equipment

Typically, CAT members deploy in black

battle dress uniform The Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) is a camouflaged combat uniform that was used by the United States Armed Forces as their standard combat uniform from the early 1980s to the mid-2000s. Since then, it has been replaced or supplanted in every bra ...

s. Each member not otherwise assigned a heavier weapon is equipped with a SR-16 rifle, a

SIG Sauer SIG Sauer is since the 1970s a combined brand name of several Firearms manufacturing companies, with SIG referring to ''Swiss Industry Group'' originally founded 1853, while the latter part comes from Sauer & Sohn, founded in 1751 in Germany a ...

P229 The SIG Sauer P226 is a full-sized service pistol made by SIG Sauer. This model is available in four chamberings: the 9×19mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, .357 SIG, or .22 Long Rifle. It has the same mechanism of operation as the SIG Sauer P220, but is d ...

pistol, and flash-bang grenades.

Duties

CAT operates both as part of motorcades and at fixed sites. In the event a VIP, the VIP's vehicle, or a protected site is attacked by multiple assailants, CAT is responsible for engaging and diverting the attackers, thereby buying the close protection shift time to evacuate the dignitary to a safe area. Hawkeye, when operating as part of a U.S. president's motorcade, travels in a vehicle several car lengths behind the presidential state car.

References

{{Authority control Police tactical units Government agencies established in 1979 Counter-Assault Team 1979 establishments in the United States