Testimonials
SWAT Team Leader DevelopmentSWAT Team Leader Development
I want to thank you all for the course. I’m in my 30th year as a police officer, 17th year on SWAT and this was by far the most interesting course I’ve been to in my career. I’ve been asking for this course for many years and I realized that with more experience it was really easy to relate to every story I heard. A lot of the debriefing really challenge the decisions we make on a day to day basis.
SWAT Team Leader Development
The real world experience of the instructors and the way they were able to relate it to the class was priceless. You have two world class instructors in Pat Hilliker and Robert Morris. I would take classes from Pat Hilliker any day of the week and twice on Sunday! He and Rob are the real deal. Thank you for sending them to us.
SWAT Team Leader Development
The instructors were both passionate, humorous and very engaging with the class. This course has been the most significant and important period of instruction that I’ve had since the police academy 20 years ago.
The resources made available to bring back to my own department will no doubt shape and form the way we do things from this point on and I believe will save lives. Thank you for the invaluable training.
SWAT Team Leader Development
Jason Behun and Pat Hilliker have an amazing level of personal experience balanced with zero ego in instruction. They stick to the facts of industry best standard and don’t get wrapped up in the “look how awesome I am” mentality that I have seen out of so many other instructors in the past (not NTOA). They didn’t waste a ton of time on rookie-level SWAT tactics and focused on giving the class information that could serve us best to lead a team. Just an amazing course all the way around.
SWAT Team Leader Development
The amount of experience between the two instructors showed in the lessons they taught and they made the every portion of it applicable to the team atmosphere. This course was by far the best I have been to. Both instructors made every effort possible so that the course was not a “death by power point” type. I learned a lot from this and hope that I can pass on the passion to my team as they passed to me for this line of work.
SWAT Team Leader Development
The instructors (Dan Murphy and Tim Swanson) know this material cold. The course has been well flushed out, there is no fat on the training. There were no times during the week that I was not engaged in learning. I have been an ATL for 10 years and this was the first formal training I have had on how to do my job. It will make me better at leading and teaching my people how to save lives and get home safe. My gratitude cannot possibly be translated in a simple critique.
There was plenty of material that I thought that I had a sold grasp of that I learned that I did not or I was flat doing things wrong. The way that we are going to do slow and methodical searches for barricaded subjects if necessary will completely change after hearing the debrief on the NYSP case. I am upset with myself for not going through this course 10 years ago.
SWAT Team Leader Development
The NTOA’s SWAT Team Leader Development course was some of the best training and direction I have received in my 16-year career. The tactical competency of both instructors, Matt Hardesty and Pat Hilliker, rang true when instructing aspects of SWAT operations. As an operator for 13 years, I can really appreciate their points of view and will take a lot of great ideas and tactics back to our team. Listening to their experiences was humbling and rejuvenating. I aspire to be the warrior or at least one of the nine fighters that make the battle. As I get older, my mind is still sharp and my drive increasing, but sometimes my body doesn’t want to cooperate. I will share with the young blood on our team and in turn we will all benefit. Thank you for keeping us sharp. We will not let you down.
SWAT Team Leader Development
This course was the best training I have attended in a very long time! I have never attended a training in which I felt completely challenged to re-evaluate my position in my career or how my department/team operates. The personal touch of Sgt. A.J. DeAndrea’s presentation hardened my dedication to doing my job the right way and to motivating those around me to be held to the same high standard.
SWAT Team Leader Development
The instructors were quite literally the best I have ever encountered. They were able to deliver the course content in a way that made sense to me. I took so much out of the class outside of just tactical leadership. I took tools that will be used for my patrol guys and range training too.
Best class I’ve ever attended, hands down.
SWAT Team Leader Development
I am very pleased with the entire NTOA training experience. Starting with the NTOA staff and ending with the instructors, you all made this an uncomplicated process for me. Instructors Fred Myer and Rob Morris are top-notch, very personable, and provided all of us with a wealth of knowledge throughout the week.
I have already been in touch with my team Commander and it is my hope to host other trainings through NTOA at this same facility, and perhaps our range facility as well.
SWAT Team Leader Development
This course provided me with the skills and thought process necessary to make the right call at the right time to save lives. Great course! I took a lot if great information to bring back to the team.
SWAT Team Leader Development
I recently attended one of your SWAT Team Leader Development trainings in North Haven, CT. The instructors, Pat Hilliker and Rob Morris, were two of the best instructors I have had the pleasure of learning from in my 20 years as a police officer. They showed up every day enthusiastic about the day’s training and brought with them life experiences that were informative. Both instructors were personable and approachable the entire week and offered a wealth of knowledge. Pat and Rob are an asset to NTOA and I look forward to attending one of NTOA’s classes in the future.
Great course and great instructors! The experience and intensity of both instructors brought realism to the training and provided a great foundation to teach from. I look forward to continue training with the NTOA and their instructors!
This was the best 40-hour class I have attended in my 16-year career in law enforcement! I would recommend it to anyone and am going to try to send my whole team through it.
Thanks to NTOA for offering this level of training. The training was very emotional and deep. The instructors (A.J. DeAndrea and Dan Murphy) were true professionals and they have shared true stories with the class which needed to be shared. Some of us have taken this job for granted because we have not been through what those guys been through. For these reasons, I applaud NTOA for allowing the true heroes to shared real SWAT stories with us.
SWAT Team Leader Development
The real life experience in conjunction with the classroom material had a major impact on the amount of material I was able to take away from this course. It was a truly humbling experience and was crucial to my growth as a leader.
The experiences shared by instructor A.J. DeAndrea were eye-opening. He is a true leader of men who I would gladly follow into the abyss. It was an honor to have him as an instructor!
SWAT Team Leader Development
The content of this class spoke directly to what we need to do. The instructors didn’t just say “this is a good idea,” they told us why and explained why not for other options. I was extremely impressed by these instructors. I brought back my changes to my department that were well received. This is because I was able to give solutions to the issues and ideas to better our department.
It is clear that both instructors put passion and commitment into this class and I greatly appreciate that. This class will certainly save lives in the law enforcement community.
We had our first armed barricade over the weekend and my first major OP as team leader. I want to say, taking your SWAT Team Leader Development course helped me tremendously and I definitely used some of the things you taught us in the course. I also observed a lot of “problems” that happen when an incident of this size occurs. Overall, it went very well with the bad guys in custody and the good guys going home safe. I learned a lot for the future and will improve on some of the little things for next time. I would definitely recommend the course to new or current team leaders. Thanks for your class! (Click here to read article on this incident.)
Sgt. Sherman’s preparation and knowledge was evident. His delivery was professional and still humble and approachable. He explained the concepts in a way that only a person who has a deep understanding of their topic can do. His energy was constant. Despite the limited amount of feedback and interaction, he remained motivated. Sgt. Sherman is impressive and a credit to his agency and community, and an asset to our country.
This course far exceeded my expectations. I was excited to attend an NTOA course given the reputation of the NTOA, but this was awesome! No BS when I say this was an outstanding course. I am excited to apply the principles I learned to my team.