Special Reaction Team - Ballistic Shield

Marines with Air Station Iwakuni, Japan's Special Reaction Team (SRT) pictured during a hostage rescue training mission, March 2011.

SRTs are USMC Military Police SWAT teams that protect personnel at Marine Corps bases.

Note the ballistic shield carried by the SRT's point man.

When the team is moving in single file towards a threat, the shield, which is made of Dyneema composite fiber, provides a degree of protection against small arms fire, other projectiles and melee weapons.

As shown here, the shield can be fitted with lights which not only provide illumination in dark conditions but can also act to temporarily blind, distract and disorient hostiles.

Some shield light systems can be set to strobe which further distracts hostiles.

Other distraction devices that may attach to an SRT shield include 'screamers', which emit high-pitched, high-volume sounds.

Such measures give the SRT, led into a room by the point man, a vital fraction-of-a-second's advantage over any hostiles inside.

The ballistic shield is commonly employed by law enforcement special tactics unit such as military police special reaction teams and civilian police SWAT teams.