DUBAI: With their remarkable endurance, exceptional skills, and impressive performance, the all-female SWAT team of the Dubai Police wowed police leaders, SWAT teams, and audience members alike during the fourth edition of the UAE SWAT Challenge 2023 in Al Ruwayyah.
The only women’s team participating in the challenge firmly established its presence and proved its capability to compete fiercely in all competitions, especially those designed for all-men SWAT teams.
Leaders of special and tactical teams (SWAT) participating in the challenge commended the Dubai Police women’s team for their excellent preparation and outstanding performance during the competition. They acknowledged that the competition showcased Dubai Police’s all-women team’s exceptional shooting skills, disciplined approach, effective teamwork, and raiding proficiency.
Lieutenant Colonel Yahya Sultan Al Binali, who led the Bahraini team in the UAE SWAT challenge, praised the exceptional readiness of the women’s SWAT team. He expressed his admiration, stating that he had watched a short film about the UAE SWAT Challenge in the cinema before the event and observed the women’s team during raid scenes. He was impressed by their professionalism in using weapons, movement, and raiding. Later, he discovered that the women’s team was participating in the challenge, which took him by surprise.
According to Lt. Col. Al Binali, the participation and performance of the women’s SWAT team took all the other SWAT teams by surprise. He noted that the Dubai Police had exceptional trainers and experienced coaches, which had a positive impact on the team’s readiness and performance, enabling them to qualify for all competitions.
Lt. Col. Al Binali commended the team’s incredible performance, stating that they deserved praise and admiration from all, adding that he would share this experience in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The coach of the Internal Security Forces team in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1st Sergeant Saad bin Ayed Al Ghamdi, praised the remarkable performance of the Dubai Police women’s SWAT team. He referred to the team as the “dark horse” of the competition and noted their exceptional training, discipline, and persistence, which led to record-breaking results.
Al Ghamdi said the women’s SWAT team was the standout performer of the competition and had earned the respect and trust of everyone involved.
“Dubai Police’ all-women team was surely the ‘diamond’ of the challenge” he said.
Superintendent Muhammad Altazi, head of the Moroccan SWAT delegation participating in the UAE SWAT challenge, stated that this was their first time participating in the competition. However, the performance of the Dubai Police’s women team caught their attention.
“The all-women team demonstrated solid and harmonious teamwork and worked with the spirit of unity, which was extremely impressive,” he said.
Milos Rakonjac, the Police Director Assistant for the Special Purpose Task Police of Montenegro, acknowledged that the women’s team’s results were impressive, and their exceptional performance in the competition challenged certain misconceptions about the role of women in SWAT tactical teams and their responsibilities in law enforcement.
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my great gratitude to the Dubai Police for qualifying and equipping this team, who showed readiness and excellent tactical shooting skills as evident from their achieved results,” he concluded.
“The performance of the Dubai Police All-Women SWAT team was stunning, and the achieved results are not easy in the various competitions, especially in a competition designed for men’s specialised teams,” said Burim Kadrijag, a member of the New York Police SWAT Team.
Kadrijag was particularly impressed that “neither distances nor weights were reduced for the women’s SWAT team during the challenge, they competed equally to men”.
He concluded by emphasising the team’s remarkable equality in the competition.
Ruy Mello, head of the Sao Paulo Police Team – Brazil, said: “It is wonderful to see women competing in a field traditionally dominated by men’s SWAT teams. They showed an outstanding performance”.
“We noticed that the women’s team was physically and tactically present when performing great tasks; their results were amazing in many competitions,” he added.
Andreian Balpongo Bronales, director of the Philippine National Police SWAT, said that the Dubai Police women’s team had its own distinguished skills and worked with one team spirit during various competitions. He said that the team had proven its capabilities and readiness to compete in various types of competitions and congratulated Dubai Police for training and equipping such a remarkable team.
