Game wardens America's next paramilitary force
The man in the photo isn't a Ranger in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. He's a Texas game warden, kitted out to check your deer tags or lead a paramilitary, kick-the-door-in assault on your tent. The militarization of every possible law enforcement entity in America is complete: Texas Parks and Wildlife now has a SWAT team.
The 25-man unit can deploy anywhere in the state within four hours, TPWD boasts, and is modeled after what military types call a "force multiplier," which basically means that these guys can shoot a bunch of bullets. At what, you ask? They list potential missions like "border operations, dignitary protection or any sort of high-risk law enforcement, such as serving felony arrest warrants or hostage situations.
As fully commissioned peace officers, Texas’ 532 game wardens have long assisted local authorities and other state agencies in times of crisis, but the TPWD Law Enforcement Division recently established a cadre of specialty teams made up of volunteer game wardens willing to take extra training and respond to situations anywhere in Texas at a moment’s notice while also maintaining their regular duties.
In addition to the K-9 team, TPWD has formed new teams to handle advanced crime scene reconstruction, diving search and recovery, boat theft, search and rescue (including swift-water rescue) and high-risk work such as border operations and hostage situations.
All of TPWD’s new law enforcement teams are highly mobile and capable of a quick response.
“We can have a team anywhere in Texas in four hours, and that’s the worst-case scenario,” Jones says. “A lot of times it’s much faster.”
Texas even has a Navy! TPWD has 564 vessels, including a 65-foot gulf patrol ship, and gunboats mounted with .30 cal machine guns.
“As the Texas Navy, our game wardens and the vessels they operate have an important role in maintaining the state’s maritime security, in addition to their day-to-day work in enforcing our conservation laws,” says TPWD Executive Director Carter Smith. “The training the wardens will receive by way of this accreditation will make these men and women and our coastwide fleet even more effective.”
http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2014/jan/ed_1_gamewardens/