The team's final certification exercise, codenamed Operation Equus Red, was held in October 1983 at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. The Hostage Rescue Team became operational in August. The team returned to Quantico to further enhance their new abilities and maintain the skills they had acquired at Fort Bragg. The Delta Force provided the team with a wide-ranging block of instruction that covered a number of topics that would be useful during their future operations. Then, the team traveled to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in February for a month of training with the US Army's Delta Force. To bring all the newly acquired skills together, the team spent roughly the entire month of January 1983 honing their shooting and tactical skills at Quantico. As part of their liaison duties, the men attended training and exercises held by their assigned counter-terrorism unit and shared experiences with the team. In addition, nearly everyone was involved with the Delta Force. Each person also served as a liaison to one of the existing elite counter-terrorism teams from around the world. After receiving tactical SWAT instruction, each individual was given an expertise to research, such as explosives and breaching tactics. The final touches were added to their facilities just before Thanksgiving 1982, and, after a short holiday break, the team began its initial training program. The building, which was built out of old tires, would allow the team to conduct live-fire training exercises to enhance their shooting skills. One of its very first projects was the construction of a "shoot house". Upon completing its initial selection, the team began acquiring the equipment it believed it would need and upgrading training facilities at Quantico. Of this group, fifty candidates were selected to continue on to more advanced training. Most candidates were experienced SWAT team members. The initial HRT selection course was held in June 1982 and consisted of three groups of thirty candidates each. Final approval for the HRT was given in early 1982, and formal planning began in March 1982. The team would be capable of handling extraordinary hostage situations, large-scale counter-terrorist operations, situations involving nuclear or biological agents, or operations that local law enforcement or the regional FBI field office was not trained or equipped to handle. An operator grimly replied, "We put two rounds in their forehead, the dead don't need handcuffs." The idea of the HRT started out as an enhanced SWAT and counter-terror team. When Webster reviewed the equipment used by the Delta Force and noticed there were no handcuffs, he inquired about it. Webster witnessed a demonstration by the US Army Delta Force. The idea for the HRT was originally conceived during the late 1970s but came to life when then FBI director William H.
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