Best of the Best Earn Role on Elite Hanford Team

RICHLAND, Wash. – Following a grueling training and instruction regimen, the Hanford Site graduated five new members of an elite law enforcement squad that protects the site from potential security threats.

EM contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) manages the Hanford Patrol and selects only those candidates with the highest level of physical skill and mastery of weapons for the protective force’s special response team.

Classroom and field instruction for Hanford’s special response team consists of five times the required amount typical for a SWAT member in Washington state. Applicants must receive a supervisor recommendation before passing an interview and tryout.

“These five graduates are at the tip of the spear for keeping our materials and our people protected, so that the cleanup mission can occur and the nation’s assets are protected,” said Brian Stickney, deputy manager for the Hanford Site.

As part of the first graduating class in two years, the officers completed rigorous training while wearing 40 pounds of gear and helmets. Instructors adhered to strict government safety measures to protect trainees from the summer heat.

“This team is the sharpest and most potent arrow in your quiver of last resort,” Hanford Patrol Col. Kyle Hiller said. “I would put this team up against any tactical team in the nation.”

Instructors provided the training. They also assisted DOE’s national training certification team as it conducted its three-year recertification of the special response team program.

“The level of training we get here is excellent,” said Robert Pofahl, honor graduate and former Marine Corps sniper. “The instructors do a phenomenal job.”