our community: TEXAS TACTICAL
Story and Photos By ZACH PETERSON
responder. I train these people and
give them the knowledge of what
needs to be done so they will feel
confident and better later.”
Now celebrating 20 years of
teaching, Taylor figured out that
teaching is a passion of his, but not
for the reasons that you think.
“I’m stingy. The life you save
someday might be mine and I want
to make sure you have the right train-
ing.”
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hen Tommy Taylor started Texas Tactical 20 years ago, he
discovered a new passion in his life. The retired police officer
and veteran created the 25-acre complex, complete with a half-mile-
long training and obstacle course and more than 30 different obstacles
to train both civilians and officers in tactics.
Which one offers the greatest challenges?
“It varies from person to person. The one that takes the most time
to complete is called ‘the Weaver.’ It’s constructed of poles that the
trainees have to weave themselves up and back down to complete the
challenge,” Taylor said.
Taylor is not the only veteran in his family. His office has a wall
full of photos of family members who either have served or currently
serve in the military.
“My granddad was drafted into the Marines, and my dad was Air
Force. I joined the Army. My son has already served his time and is
out. He served in the Army in Afghanistan and my daughter is current-
ly active in the Army right now.
While my son was serving, I was
doing contract work in Iraq.”
Taylor, nicknamed “Terminator
Tommy,” spent four years in the US
Army’s 3/504 Airborne Parachute
Infantry regiment. After that, he
started his second career as a police
officer in Devine, Texas. Taylor
eventually put down some roots
here in Weatherford.
“After getting to Weatherford,
I got on patrol, but it didn’t take
long to get into SWAT, because
that’s one of my passions. I worked
my way up as team leader with the
SWAT Team and was leader over
the Parker County/ Weatherford
SWAT team for many years.”
Tommy’s involvement with
SWAT began in 1992 when
he co-founded the Windcrest,
Texas, SWAT team. He retired
in November 2007 from the
Weatherford Police Department
where he served as a patrol officer
and team leader of the Weatherford/
Parker County Special Operations
Group. Seeing firsthand how essen-
tial it is for officers to possess tacti-
such as firearm safety and upkeep,
reloading, and low-light shooting.
For Taylor, his reward is seeing his
students succeed.
“Teaching and knowing what I’m
doing out there matters because it is
a skill set that I feel a lot of people
need. I really like seeing my past
students actually get out there putting
their skill sets to use. As many years
as I’ve been a police officer, the
first person on the scene is the first
W
cal skills to protect themselves and
those around him, he founded Texas
Tactical in 1997.
“It’s a law enforcement military
training site that trains local officers
and soldiers. When I got here, I saw
the need of tactical training and I saw
the need for more advanced training
than what was being provided in the
region. I see that the people need to
be trained, because it’s just as the old
saying goes: ‘when people need help
they call the police, and when the
police need help they call SWAT,’”
he said.
“With my background in the tacti-
cal world, there are not many compa-
nies and businesses out there that do
this. It needs to be done and it needs
to be trained. There’s a lot of people
who are in law enforcement [who]
need this type of training. To make
sure you have the best people out
there, you have the best training.”
Texas Tactical teaches police and
members of the military advanced
skills such as moving while shooting
and close-quarter combat. For all us
civilians, he shares basic knowledge
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