Those Cold And Timid Souls

Theodore Roosevelt is credited with having said “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” I can think of no combination of words that better sums up TAC Tryouts. All over our great nation, year after year no matter what is going on in the world or nation, SWAT teams hold tryouts. They hold tryouts so that a very select few of the smartest, best decision makers, strongest, fastest, and best qualified with firearms have a chance to serve their communities. Of those who try out, not all will pass the physical and firearms assessments. Fewer still will pass the oral panel interview and few still have the honor to be selected to serve on the team. But, one thing they all have in common is that they did not cower in the shadows of giants afraid to take the greatest leap, to take the great chance of…failing. No. They took the first steps toward fulfilling Isiah 6:8…”Send Me”.

My entire career I heard haters, whispers from the shadows, and passive aggressive command personnel who outranked me pulling shit that made life difficult for me and other team members. Who were they? People who had never tried out…never had the opportunity to serve on the team and therefore never truly understood what the team was, what it meant to the members, the organization and to the community. These officers are willing to work harder, train harder, be held to higher standard than the higher standard law enforcement is already held to, and at a moments notice drop everything and leave friends, family and loved ones in the middle of the night, in the cold of winter and even on Christmas to uphold the highest standard of all; THE PRESERVATION OF LIFE.

These candidates came together on tryout day to sweat, bleed and maybe even cry a little all for a chance to move on to the next level. If selected, they will serve quietly as a collateral duty. Meaning that their TAC assignment, their dedication is in addition to whatever their primary assignment is. Make no mistake, my passion for the team should be viewed as as diminishing the efforts of the dedicated men and women in uniform who serve selflessly every day service of their community. I am just especially passionate about the team.

It took me three tryouts to make the team. I regret none of them. I was chosen when I was ready, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to have been able to have served with some of the finest men and women my agency has ever produced. It is possible that a fair number of these candidates will not be selected after this tryout. So be it. No matter…they should all hold their heads high and be proud that they are not among the cold and timid souls. As I stood by and watched and took these pictures, I was overcome with pride for this team and these candidates. Our community has no idea how lucky they are.

This photo dedicated to my former teammate Sgt. Daniel Dale Green #255. https://www.odmp.org/officer/16454-sergeant-daniel-dale-green

See also: https://black-water-images.com written by my former teammate.