The HRT, along with the Crisis Negotiation Unit (CNU), field SWAT teams, and the Tactical Helicopter Unit (THU), was founded in 1982 by Danny Coulson (born on June 29, 1941), former Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI, and completed its final certification exercise in October 1983.
The Firearms Unit at the FBI Academy began developing SWAT teams in the early 1970s. In 1973, the Wounded Knee siege occurred in South Dakota. The FBI established a regional SWAT program following the siege to organize SWAT teams and provide qualified command personnel. 
