Beijing Blue Sword Commando Unit: Elite SWAT Force for the FuturePlanned by the Editorial Office

Zhang Minjiao

The Blue Sword Commando Unit， the elite detachment of the Beijing Municipal SWAT Team， is an award-winning team of steadfast fighters and outstanding representatives of Beijing law enforcement. Blue Sword has won numerous championships in law enforcement firearm competitions both in China and internationally， and has been awarded the titles of “National Counter-Terrorism Commando Unit” and “Model SWAT Team.” To get to know more about these world-class police officers， Modern World Police visited the Unit right before July 1.

Steadfast Fighters

Founded in Beijing in June 2008， the Blue Sword Commando Unit is a professional SWAT team that deals with gun violence， hostage rescue， lone wolf attacks， and other high-risk emergencies beyond the capacities of normal patrol offices. In 2009 and 2011， Blue Sword was awarded the titles of “National Counter-Terrorism Commando Unit” and “Model SWAT Team” by the Ministry of Public Security. The trophies and awards displayed on the wall close to the entrance of the Blue Sword office building showcase the many achievements that the team has garnered.

Blue Sword was one of the fruits of reforms in the law enforcement sector in 2016 when Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau innovatively merged its Counter-Terrorism Unit and Special Operations Force. Hence the SWAT Team， of which the first detachment was later renamed Blue Sword. With intelligence， decision-making and operational capacities integrated， the Beijing SWAT team has successfully streamlined its process in coordination and operation.

Since its inception， Blue Sword has maintained the standard of 100 percent success in every emergency， according to Deputy Director He Yongrui. The officers have adhered to the motto of performing their duties with dedication and courage and staying prepared at all times. To ensure the full commitment of each team member in highly demanding tasks， the Unit has always upheld dedication and courage in its regular training.

Instead of basking in their past achievements， the Blue Sword officers have been constantly expanding their mission capabilities with new theories， techniques， and tactics by drawing on their experiences and other similar cases in China and abroad. For example， they have completed Helicopter Coordination Tactics for Emergency Preparedness in Response to Terrorism and over 20 other cutting-edge counter-terrorism research projects. Moreover， they developed numerous advanced devices and SWAT gear， including bus window blasters， tactical sniper bench kits， and multi-panel defense systems， among others. In recognition of these achievements， the Unit was awarded the first prize of the Youth Community Policing Award for Innovation. In particular， the Blue Sword officers edited the training manual of SWAT Sniper Tactics， which filled a gap in sniper training in China. The manual has won the first prize of the Fourth Community Policing Award for Innovation and has been widely used by SWAT teams throughout the country.

An Elite Police Force

Since its establishment， the Blue Sword Commando Unit has cultivated a great number of excellent police officers. Take Sergeant Fang Gang for example. In the 2nd World Police Service Pistol Shooting Competition in Guangdong in November 2018， Sergeant Fang won the gold medal in the mens individual championship， demonstrating the exceptional skills of Chinese police officers and presenting a good image of Beijing SWAT forces in an arena that brought together 256 elite police officers from 73 countries and regions.

Recruited as a police officer in 2010， Fang was selected by the Blue Sword Commando Unit for SWAT training after his completion of one-year in-service training. In the 11 years of his service， Fang has grown from a rookie policeman with no experience in gun shooting into a national gold medalist for shooting and the “champion of champions” in the world police competition. For him， pistol shooting is no longer a policing skill but a favorite hobby. “Every SWAT officer can be trained into an excellent shooter， but it takes perfect concentration to withstand a real test.”

The 2nd World Police Service Pistol Shooting Competition was the first world event in which Fang had participated. It was also the first time that he had performed shooting in simulations of real-world scenarios. Frank about his diffidence when entering the game， Fang remembered he quickly recollected himself and focused all his attention on every move. To his great relief， a foreign officer came over to him and gave him a big thumbs-up after he finished all the rounds. In his later visits to Italy and other countries， Fang would find himself closely observed by his foreign colleagues during trial shooting and warmly greeted afterward. He also exchanged police badges and other souvenirs with many international colleagues. To these experiences Fang responded， “In the international policing community everyone learns from each other and recognizes each others achievements. It is my honor to have taken part in these competitions on behalf of China and won the recognition of my counterparts.”

As one of the first generation of Blue Sword snipers， Li Haifeng won the gold medal for a 200-meter three-posture shooting championship with a record-breaking full score for 12 consecutive shots in the 11th International Sniper Competition held in Russia in September 2016. His competitors were a total of 47 teams of 94 top snipers from 25 countries. Li also became the only winner of the “Best Shooter” award in the competition. When reflecting over his success， Li was cool-headed， saying that he was only ranked in the middle when he first participated in the competition in 2009， but he honed his shooting skills by learning advanced training methods from his international colleagues， and won the runner-up two years later and finally the championship in 2016. Specifically， Li once observed that an international colleague trained with the “one shot， two bullet holes” method， namely， aiming at a thin blade from a distance so that the blade would split the bullet head in half to create two bullet holes. Li later introduced this training method into sniper training at the Blue Sword Commando Unit. “We now can hit a blade 50 meters away easily，” Li said， full of pride， “and 80 meters is the farthest we can get using this method.”

Drawing on his rich experience in international competitions， Li Haifeng and his colleagues developed the SWAT drills of seven-posture shooting and shooting objects behind glass， both of which were listed among the five essential drills for Chinese SWAT forces by the Ministry of Public Security in 2010. Apart from emphasizing technical innovation， the Unit has also aimed at preparing its officers to better meet their missions. As a ground rule， the conditions in which the Blue Sword officers are drilled should always be harsher than those in real combat.

Combat-Oriented Training

We saw this firsthand during our visit， when it rained heavily at noon. Just when we thought the rain might cost us the opportunity to witness the training， we heard the rumbling of engines from the training field—it was the new Blue Sword officers training their motorcycle driving skills in the heavy rain.

“Ours is a police force with an all-weather operational capacity. We never cancel a training session because of weather， be it day or night， summer or winter， rain or shine. For our officers， training in bad weather is especially valuable， because we could face similar situations in operation，” explained Instructor Li Haifeng.

Following the trainees， we entered the gym through the lobby in the Blue Sword office building. Different from the quietness of the lobby， the gym was boiling with activity and noise. The police officers were busy with workouts; some female police officers engaged in a  jump rope challenge with their male colleagues， and their scores were quite close.

For SWAT officers， their success in dealing with real-world challenges depends on these very drills that keep them in peak physical condition under all circumstances.

For Li Haifeng， a seasoned sniper， the training scenarios must be modeled on actual cases or in a more complicated way to ensure the success of an operation at any critical moment. “In sniper training， for example， we require our officers to hit targets 500 meters away; in this way， we can operate with absolute confidence in a call-out， where the targets are about 20 to 30 meters or even 300 meters away. Perhaps the long-distance-shooting skills we have trained will not be put to use in a long time， but we must always be prepared for such rare incidents， which may arise at any moment. For this reason， we base our appraisal of long-distance shooting skills on their essentialness for sniper training， not on sheer probabilities.”

Snipers have often been misconstrued as nothing more than perching motionlessly in the same place for a long time. However， this idea is outdated according to Li Haifeng. “A sniper must be able to act in both long and short time frames. On the one hand， a sniper must be patient enough to endure fatigue in exhausting combats; on the other， a sniper has to be swift in his or her response to sudden changes on the scene. He or she may not shoot in the end， but should always be ready to do it to rescue the hostage.”

Here is how fast a Blue Sword sniper moves： starting out in a standing position with an unloaded gun on the back， the officer can make a quick decision， get ready to fire， and fire two bullets， all in the matter of seven short seconds.

Every Blue Sword officer has to excel in one area， such as shooting， unarmed combat skills， or tactical driving， while proficient in multiple skills. This requirement is obviously based on the practical needs arising from actual combat.

The combination of one specialty with multiple skills is perfectly embodied in Officer Li Yang， who has a ten-year standing， the longest for any female officer there. A college graduate majoring in communications， she did not compare to her colleagues in physical fitness or experience， as most of the colleagues were recruited from police schools or sports schools. However， with her iron determination and steadfast training， she managed to win the gold medal for shooting in the National SWAT Championship. Currently Li works as head of the ten-member female SWAT unit. While trained in the same combat-oriented subjects as their male colleagues， the female officers also prioritize pistol shooting skills， as they may often need to operate in plain clothes and neutralize threats by surprise. For the same reason， they also borrow from sniper training such methods as shooting blades from a distance and shooting swinging eggs.

In addition to the regular training subjects， Li Yang has also promoted her colleagues to leverage their diverse disciplinary backgrounds and broaden their skill sets. Now the female officers are a highly competitive force in drone training， tactical motorcycle driving， and other skills.

In addition to shooting， Li Yang also developed a specialty in psychotherapy. With the encouragement of her superiors， she passed the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology （Grade 3）. Inspired by her Hong Kong colleagues， Li puts her theoretical knowledge to good use and advises her colleagues on how to deal with mental health issues in regular training and daily life. For instance， she often provides therapy for insomnia to her SWAT teammates who have sleep issues after working night shifts. Furthermore， she shares useful tips with her teammates by grounding her psychological knowledge in her personal experience of overcoming anxiety. Starting out a natural shooter by scoring 46 and 49 respectively for her first two five-shot rounds， Li grappled with anxiety for a long time and experienced ups and downs in training and competition performance. Later， she approached this problem from a psychotherapists perspective， and found that the best way to deal with anxiety is to embrace it. “Higher levels of anxiety inevitably bring forth heart flutters and trembling hands. When anxiety strikes， my experience is you dont repress it， but embrace it and negotiate with it by doing some physical exercise. I mean， by introducing one more cause of heartbeat increase， I can reduce the impact of anxiety. Sometimes this method even helped my hands stop trembling altogether.” Li introduced this tip and shared her experience with her teammates who have similar problems in training.

In recent years， the Beijing SWAT Team has attached great importance to the mental health of the officers and incorporated mental health service in its daily work. A SWAT officer should， according to veteran Li Haifeng， have both advanced tactics and strong mentality to accomplish a mission. In the selection of officers for police competitions， excellent mental strength is key， second only to mission capability. To protect the safety of every officer， the Unit requires that safety protocols are enforced and precautions taken to minimize the risk of injuries during each training session. In particular， the Blue Sword Unit checks the officers before each training session to determine if they are physically and mentally fit for the challenge. For example， trainees might be deemed unfit for firearm training due to events such as a family member falling sick or a family quarrel in the previous day.

Inside the Blue Sword Office Building， we saw a spacious， bright room equipped with sandboxes and other facilities. It is the Beijing SWAT Team branch of the Mental Health Center for Police Officers under the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau. Every new SWAT officer at Blue Sword will have his or her mental health tracked and evaluated by the consultants of the Center during the one-year in-service training.

“Opening Up and Going Public”

In the public eye， SWAT is no more than a bunch of tough， handsome officers. In order to deepen the publics understanding of the SWAT police work and solicit their assistance in crime prevention， Blue Sword has launched open days for the public and hosting talks at campuses， enterprises， and communities.

In recent years， Blue Sword officers have hosted more than 50 talks annually at various enterprises and institutions. To raise the publics counterterrorism awareness， they explained how to prevent terrorist attacks， identify suspicious persons and vehicles， and fend off suspects and avoid danger in terrorist attacks that involve knives， guns， or hostages.

With the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics approaching， Blue Sword has been actively preparing itself in both equipment upgrades and skill building. In addition to providing officers with cold weather gear， Blue Sword has also introduced training on snowmobile driving and skiing， reinforced the training of police dogs for attacking in winter gear， and drilled the officers on tactics on snow and ice.

During our visit， we witnessed the induction of new Blue Sword trainees. We were told that a badge pinning ceremony is held at the Unit when new trainees pass all the tests， at which time the new officers are awarded Blue Sword badges on their left upper arms like everyone else in the Unit. The Blue Sword badges， together with the deep pride and honor that the badges signal， have motivated generations of officers to meet their missions with utmost dedication and courage.

（Pictures are provided by interviewees）

Translatedy by Shao He and Du Qiuying（Shao He is a faculty member of the English Department of Capital Normal University. Du Qiuying is a student at Capital Normal University.）