Activations

**Warrant Service Assist with Santa Maria Police Department**

In December, the Santa Maria Police Department planned multi-location warrant services related to a homicide that occurred in the city a couple of weeks prior. SMPD SWAT reached out to SET to handle the warrant service in the 700 blk. of Arora Way. SET safely executed the warrant service and arrested a juvenile in connection with SMPD’s investigation. SET takes pride in the positive working relationship with our partner agencies, and we are always willing to assist in any capacity.

The Special Enforcement Team may be activated day or night, 365 days per year. SET prides itself on the successful execution of any task they are assigned. SET’s mission-readiness and capabilities would not be possible without the equipment and training so graciously acquired through the efforts of the Santa Barbara Special Enforcement Team Support Foundation, Inc.

Training

Sniper Adventure Challenge - Benson, AZ

In November, SET members from the Long Rifle Team participated in the 2023 Sniper Adventure Challenge. The competition involved land navigation, long-range rifle, carbine, and pistol shooting, fieldcraft, problem-solving, physical challenges, communication, target recognition, memory, and other related tasks. Two-man teams navigated 30-60+ miles, on foot, while carrying a 50-60 lb. pack to complete the course.
The course ran for 36 consecutive hours and was physically demanding. Temperatures ranged from the upper 80s during the daytime to freezing overnight. The shooting stages were very challenging with strict times, varying distances, and minimally supported shooting positions.
SET members learned valuable takeaways from being able to compete in the Sniper Adventure Challenge. Lessons learned will be incorporated into a future training day so that the all of SET will benefit from the experience.

Equipment

Invisio T7 Communications Headset

After testing various headset communications systems, the Special Enforcement Team decided to purchase the Invisio T7 over-ear headsets. The team currently uses the Invisio X5 “in-ear” system; however, the over-the-ear headsets will provide better durability than the in-ear system. The T7 system proved to be comfortable, provided excellent noise-canceling capabilities, and offered clear communication from normal speaking to whispering. The over-the-ear system can be worn with a headband, neckband, or mounted to a ballistic helmet. The team is already familiar with the push-to-talk features of Invisio since it is the brand currently utilized.

Thanks to the SBSET Support Foundation, the team was able to purchase new headsets for every team member for approximately $36,400.

Most SET members are wearing their new T7 headsets underneath aging ballistic helmets. This has led to some team members purchasing personally owned ballistic helmets (as seen below). SET will begin to test and evaluate helmets soon. Part of the helmet evaluation process will include mounting options to secure the Inviso T7 headsets to helmets. The mounting system seen in the picture below is the “RAC Link Kit” by AXL.

Marathon Targets

When SET members attended the Hostage Rescue Symposium in Orange County in August 2023, they had the opportunity to connect with the folks from Marathon Targets. The SET members were able to try out the targets and see their capabilities. Contact information was exchanged, and during SET’s annual weekly training in the Fall, employees from Marathon Targets made the trek to Santa Barbara County for a full team training day.

Marathon Targets are essentially ballistic-rated autonomous robots. The targets are rated to withstand thousands of live-fire rounds (up to 50 caliber) and operate off of GPS. A programmer sets the hit and location parameters for each robot. A laptop controls the robots. Once the programmer sets the appropriate location and hit parameters, the robots freely move within the confines of their coordinates. The robots have hit sensors and will react accordingly to accurately placed hits. Lethal hits will force the robots to “collapse;” however, they will re-animate seconds later to maximize training time. Many team members have never had the chance to shoot moving or reactive targets. Live-fire training on targets other than paper or steel was extremely beneficial.

The team was grateful to Marathon Targets for making the trip to Santa Barbara County from Twentynine Palms, CA. Since Marathon Targets came to provide a “demo” of their products, there was no cost to SET. Had a demo day not been arranged, the total cost for Marathon Targets to provide one day of training would be approximately $15,000.

Although $15,000 is a large expense for one day of training, SET would like to continue to explore options to get Marathon Targets back to the Central Coast due to the incredible training value their target systems provide.

If you would like more information on Marathon Targets, you can visit their website at:

MARATHON – Autonomous Robotic Targets for Live Fire Tactical Training (marathon-targets.com)