Law enforcement and the military services have long recognized that medical support of special operations can enhance the probability of mission success. This type of support requires a unique, additional expertise, which is complementary to the basic qualifications of prehospital health care providers.

Community emergency medical services (EMS) systems in the United States and abroad were developed to respond to the needs of individual patients in controlled situations. However, in some locales, emergency medical technicians trained for the EMS role have been pressed into service to support counter terrorism, drug interdiction and other law enforcement activities without any additional training. These activities have become increasingly specialized in nature, characterized by prolonged operations, organized opposing forces, use of military-type weapons, and increasing death and injury among law enforcement officers, perpetrators and innocent citizens.

The goals of the CONTOMS Program are to offer a nationally standardized curriculum, certification process and quality improvement procedure to meet the needs of those EMTs, paramedics, and physicians who operate as part of a special response team. Additionally, the program tracks data to assure that the educational efforts is evidence based, so that it meets the dynamic needs of the law enforcement and EMS communities. Finally, the program faculty are available for consultation to Federal, state and local agencies to help meet immediate requirements, solve urgent problems or conduct needs assessments.

Law enforcement remains a dangerous occupation. During the past 10 years in the United States, there has been an average of one law enforcement officer death every 53.5 hours, or 164 per year. There were 140 law enforcement officers killed in 2008. On average, more than 57,000 law enforcement officers are assaulted each year, resulting in some 17,000 injuries. Given this sobering reality, the faculty and graduates of the CONTOMS Program strive each day to “protect the protectors” – and ultimately to prevent more names from being added to the National Law Enforcement Memorial.