FWC’s Special Operations Group keeps control
For members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Special Operations Group, their tasks aren't necessarily tied to fish and game.
And although the Special Operations Group, or SOG, does work the waters and woods, the five, 15-member teams operating across Florida often deal with urban search and rescue, medical emergencies and security detail.
"It's a dedicated team," Lt. Jay Chesser said.
The Northwest Florida SOG covers Escambia County to Jefferson County. Some of its deployments have included hurricane and tropical storm management, escorting military ships and dignitary protection.
Chesser proudly boasts a photograph of a team member with Vice President Dick Cheney and said team members have been dispatched to secure events such as the Super Bowl.
"We're very unique," Chesser said. "We're the tip of the sphere when it comes to the FWC's maritime and wilderness operations."
The FWC, Chesser said, is the second-largest law enforcement agency in the state, and that this agency would participate in military-like assignments is confounding to some.
"The agency's moniker throws some people a curve ball," SOG team member Drew Nelson said.
Chesser stressed the differences between his SOG team and a SWAT team.
"We are not a SWAT team," he said. "A SWAT team deals more with barricaded subjects."
Consider this past weekend, when members of the Northwest Florida SOG team patrolled the waters off Fort Walton Beach; the city's annual Billy Bowlegs Festival can get rowdy.
"It's like Mardi Gras on water," said Chesser, the SOG's Alpha Team leader.
To prevent fights, members of Chesser's SOG team position their boat at the event's epicenter, near the Brooks Bridge
"We get in there and work the middle, where the trouble is," Chesser said. "Us being there keeps the fights down." The SOG also sees a lot alcohol poisoning during the pirate-themed festival. "It's really a drunkfest," Chesser said of the Bowlegs Festival, which celebrated its 53rd anniversary this year. Nelson said some of the shenanigans surrounding the festival resemble late-night infomercials.
"It's like ‘Girls Gone Wild' out there," Nelson said. The SOG confronts different issues in the wilderness, from what Chesser termed "man-tracking" to guns in a management area. "If you're riding down the road with a loaded rifle by your leg, you're going to get a ticket," Chesser said.
Experience counts
Each SOG member first must be a Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation officer. Each member, Chesser said, is physically able to tackle its goals. The group adheres to the Cooper Institute Law Enforcement Fitness Test, Chesser said. And SOG members must be prepared to gut it out if need be.
"Each one of my guys is ready to roll with MREs (Meal, Ready to Eat) for a couple of days," Chesser said.
The need for a special operations group within the FWC is a direct result of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, said Nelson, the Bravo team leader.
"This all stems from 9-11," Nelson said. "The world is more complex now."