I'll begin now. No, they aren't. They might share info and even take lunch together but they aren't, in fact, the same.
Before you continue with my reply, thank you for your service, there is no higher calling than public service. Thank you.
You are right, I yield to your immense background on the matter. The next time I hear a series of mic clicks I will think "Secret Code". NOT.
Note that I did not say the WERE the same, I said
for all intents and purposes they are the same agency. Different assertion and I stand by that. They are both very fine organizations by the way.
The FBI & DEA do the same background investigation (themselves, with polygraph (uncommon in FEDLAND) and have the same background standards. DEA/FBI have co-located academy's (the only two agencies there besides the USMC by the way- not FLETC) at Quantico, share overall CONUS drug enforcement jurisdiction, and share much of the same policies and even computer systems and many forms (but renumbered). They are so much closer to being one than you apparently realize and it goes far beyond lunchcounter banter (which does not generally occur).
If one would do some additional research, you would find that they reason they are not all part of the FBI is because Hoover saw the drug problem under FBI jurisdiction as two things:
1- A war that could not be won. HGovver viewed the drug problem as one that likely could not be overcome.The FBI did/does not take on things that it cannot win- unless forced to take them on by the Seat of Government. As an illustration, This IS the reason the FBI (having forgotten Lincoln) lost interest in taking over POTUS protection from the USSS after Kennedy was assassinated. And there was in fact such a movement afoot prior to Kennedy.
2- As ethical problem within the FBI. Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity. Hoover demanded that his agents be lily white no lying, no drug use etc.- narcotics require a different sent of tactics and at times those involved in such investigations have to do things above and beyond the call to complete the task. Hoover felt these narcotics folks would eventually contaminate the FBI when they wanted to transfer out of the drug section. He also felt that the FBI might became a place to farm out burned out dope agents and it would be easier to manage/offload problems from within one branch of the agency than allowing it to spread throughout a larger organization.
As for the mic clicking and hand signal thing. No, I am not on most teams nor omni-present at all training given. I am aware of what is being taught generally in a way that you might not be. However, I know from experience that ARMY field manuals are not used in this type of training. Perhaps they are used in the land where folks mic click at each other in lieu of voice encryption-perhaps they are using them as training aides but I can assure you FM's are not considered standard training material and not generally inluded in any training curriculum I am aware of.
I can cite many reasons but the quickest one is that SRT/SWAT training is designed NOT to substantially resemble military training for purposes of civil litigation. Smart civil attorneys early on made that nexus and won a few cases so law enforcement got smart on this one. Many of the skills crossover but the the training is developed and disseminated on a different track.
You have cited Army Field manuals and Paladin Press publications, but you have not pointed toward one agency or even a fragment of written policy or training materiel published, used or endorsed by a named law enforcement agency on mic clicking "as a very good form of communication".
Come up with that and I will eat my hat.
I would not consider the sources you cite valid, empirical, or even cumulative sources of information on this subject matter at hand- these are not being taught to cops in the real world.
In closing, this has gone way off topic and no intent to hijack- therefore this is my last post on this one. No disrespect intended, but, I found your assertions so wildly theoretical and humorous that I felt compelled to perfect the record and challenge your assertions- I would really like to see some documentation on this not copyrighted by Paladin Press.
That said, I will refrain from applying the ketchup to my hat just yet. *Click,click*
Respectfully,
Mike
