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34-665: The Special Operations Group (SOG) is the police tactical group of the Victoria Police . The SOG was Australia's first full time and dedicated police tactical group when it formed in 1977. The SOG was formed in secrecy on 31 October 1977 by Chief Commissioner Mick Miller to establish a group to conduct special operations in regard to counter terrorism that would be directed towards preventative/protective security and combatting operations. Terrorism meaning politically motivated criminal activity as well as other forms of criminal activity which terrorise innocent persons. The first

68-488: A CHOGM event was being conducted at that time, saw the formation of the Standing Advisory Committee on Commonwealth and State Co-operation for Protection Against Violence (SAC-PAV). Prior to this, Australia had no formal mechanisms to respond to terrorism. SAC-PAV provided national consistency across all jurisdictions and made several recommendations, including that all states and territories maintain

102-584: A 12-week training course. In 2016, it was announced that a new A$ 27 million training facility would be built. In April 2022, the Specialist Training Facility opened, it cost nearly A$ 60 million to build and has three firing ranges and a combat range. Since its inception the SOG wore an iconic black uniform synonymous of the SOG. In 2021, the uniform colour changed to khaki . The SOG use a variety of specialised weapons and equipment including

136-873: A cost of approximately $ 400,000 each—one for each state and territory police tactical group. Each year Police Tactical Group operators attend Skills Enhancement Courses with the Tactical Assault Groups of the Special Air Service Regiment and 2nd Commando Regiment . In a 2017 article in the Australian Defence Force Journal , Captain John Sutton argued that the Australian Defence Force (ADF) should be responsible for responding to domestic counter terrorism incidents instead of

170-599: A counter terrorist and high risk arrest response capability. The SOG roles include, but are not limited to: The SOG is part of the Security Services Division of the Transit & Public Safety Command within Victoria Police. In 2016, it was announced that the SOG strength would be increased by 20 new officers. Earlier in 2010, the strength of the unit had been cut to expand CIRT. In 2016, it

204-399: A national tactical unit that can be deployed in any state or territory for Commonwealth offences. A PTG will participate in regular national counter-terrorist exercises (NATEXs) , in which federal and state government agencies practise responses to potential terrorist threats and test the procedures and legislation for Australian Defence Force support to civilian authorities in the event of

238-788: A police tactical group as a highly trained police unit that tactically manages and resolves high-risk incidents, including terrorist incidents. Generally, the majority of a police tactical group's planned operations and call-outs are not related to terrorism, but consist of responding to high-risk incidents such as sieges or executing high-risk search warrants which are beyond the scope and capabilities of other police units in their state or territory. State and territory police maintained 'tactical' or 'emergency' squads consisting of officers trained to use specialist equipment and weapons as far back as 1945, although known by varying names. These quadss consisted mainly of detectives and had limited capability and funding. The 1978 Sydney Hilton bombing , where

272-588: A shade of green known as olive drab . Khaki is a loanword from Urdu خاکی 'soil-colored', which in turn comes from Persian خاک [χɒːk] khāk 'soil' + ی (adjectival attributive suffix); it came into English via the British Indian Army . Khaki was first worn as a uniform in the Corps of Guides that was raised in December 1846 by Henry Lawrence (1806–1857), agent to

306-791: A siege at a law firm in Mitcham in June 1996 with tear gas, and a siege in Kangaroo Flat in October 1999 in which four uniform officers had been wounded. Recents incidents include the Brighton siege in June 2017 and the fatal shooting of Stanley Turvey in Ardmona in September 2023. The SOG was responsible for the security of the 2006 Commonwealth Games . The SOG provides Victoria Police with

340-492: A specialist police unit trained for counter-terrorist and hostage rescue situations. These units were initially known as a 'police assault group' in line with the Australian Defence Force nomenclature with their then-recently created Tactical Assault Groups . This saw the formalisation of many state and territory tactical units with the standardisation of all police groups in respect to training, equipment and

374-550: A terrorist attack. Each year as part of the ANZCTC Police Tactical Group Skills Enhancement Course, each state and territory sends several members of its PTG to participate in a concentrated three-week course with the Tactical Assault Groups of the Special Air Service Regiment and 2nd Commando Regiment to strengthen standards of policing in urban counter-terrorist tactics and ensure all states are training consistently to

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408-507: A two-hour stand off in front of a 2000-strong crowd near Flinders Street station . Earlier in 1995 during the SOG Review, there had been a proposal for two SOG teams consisting of four officers each to patrol Melbourne similar to CIRT. In 2011, the SOG responded to 4 sieges, conducted 10 forced building entries, conducted 54 high-risk arrests and mobile intercepts, and 36 cordon-and-call operations. The SOG has two nicknames Soggies and

442-612: Is a light shade of tan with a slight yellowish tinge. Khaki has been used by many armies around the world for uniforms and equipment, particularly in arid or desert regions, where it provides camouflage relative to sandy or dusty terrain. It has been used as a color name in English since 1848 when it was introduced as a military uniform. In Western fashion, it is a standard color for smart casual dress trousers for civilians, which are also often called khakis . In British English and some other Commonwealth usage, khaki may also refer to

476-454: Is sometimes used to refer to the style of trousers, properly called chinos, regardless of their color. At right is displayed the color light khaki (also called khaki tan or just tan ). This is the web color called khaki in HTML/CSS . The color shown at right matches the color designated as khaki in the 1930 book A Dictionary of Color , the standard for color nomenclature before

510-490: The Federal Government . The BearCat had replaced a Canadian made Armet Armored Vehicles Balkan Mk7 that had been in service since 2009. The Balkan had replaced their first armoured vehicle, a British made Composite Armoured Vehicle (CAV) 100 Land Rover Defender, acquired in 1995 after being imported for trialling by the Special Air Service Regiment . In 2016, the acquisition of three new ballistic rated vehicles

544-536: The Smith & Wesson M&P pistol, SIG MCX SBR rifle, Remington 12-gauge shotguns, sniper rifles and 40 mm grenade launcher. In July 2018, the SOG took delivery of two Lenco BearCat armoured rescue vehicles, one funded by the Victorian Government and the other purchased by Victoria Police, to replace their older model BearCat. In April 2013, the SOG had taken delivery of a BearCat funded by

578-861: The Sons of God , the latter a backronym made from the initials SOG. The unofficial SOG emblem is telescopic crosshairs superimposed over a balaclava-clad head on an outline of Australia. Notable incidents include the fatal shooting of Wayne Joannou in February 2005 in South Melbourne, Mohamed Chaouk in April 2005 in Brooklyn, Norman Leung Lee in July 1992 at Melbourne Airport , the manhunt for Melbourne Assessment Prison escapees in March 1993 near Jamieson, resolving

612-461: The Spanish–American War (1898), replacing their traditional blue field uniforms. The United States Navy and United States Marine Corps followed suit, authorizing khaki field and work uniforms. When khaki was adopted for the continental British Service Dress in 1902, the shade chosen had a clearly darker and more green hue (see photo). This color was adopted with minor variations by all

646-1133: The Tasmania Police Special Operations Group . The Australian PTGs undertake training with their New Zealand counterpart, the Special Tactics Group . Australian police taking part in a sniping course in Christchurch responded to the Christchurch mosques terrorist attack providing first aid to the victims and carried firearms for self protection. Police Tactical Groups are responsible for (amongst other): Specialist positions include snipers, method-of-entry specialists, explosive breachers, tactical swimmers, tactical ropers, tactical coxswains, medics and advanced drivers. All groups are jointly funded and equipped by both their respective state or territory police and federal government. Federal government funding allows purchases for more expensive equipment such as Lenco BearCat armoured rescue vehicles. The Australian Government has purchased eight ‘BearCats’ at

680-596: The uniforms of the British Army . During the Second Boer War, the British forces became known as Khakis because of their uniforms. After victory in the war, the government called an election, which became known as the khaki election , a term used subsequently for elections called to exploit public approval of governments immediately after military victories. The United States Army adopted khaki during

714-567: The Bomb Response Unit (BRU) was established with dedicated officers within the SOG which had since inception provided a bomb search and disposal capability to Victoria Police. In 2004, the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) was formed to respond to high risk non-firearms incidents to reduce the SOG workload. Such as a call out in September 1998 when the SOG disarmed a sword-wielding mentally ill man in

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748-465: The British Empire armies. The 1902 US Army uniform regulations also adopted a similar shade for soldiers' winter service uniforms under the name olive drab . This shade of brown-green remained in use by many countries throughout the two World Wars. Following World War II, military-issue khaki-colored chino cloth twill trousers became a common part of civilian clothing. Today, the term khakis

782-589: The Governor-General for the North-West Frontier and stationed in Lahore . Initially the border troops were dressed in their native costume, which consisted of a smock and white pajama trousers made of a coarse home-spun cotton, and a cotton turban, supplemented by a leather or padded cotton jacket for cold weather. In 1848, a khaki uniform was introduced. Subsequently, all regiments serving in

816-640: The National Anti-Terrorism Plan, is overseen by the Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee ( ANZCTC ). The plan requires each state and territory police to maintain a police tactical unit designated as a police tactical group (previously police assault group) which is jointly funded by the federal government and the respective state or territory government. The Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee (ANZCTC) defines

850-486: The SOG as part of Project Beacon, safety-first tactics were introduced along with less-than-lethal equipment with the philosophy that use of force is the last resort. In 1996, the SOG became the first Police Tactical Group to deploy interstate, with ten officers urgently sent to Tasmania via charter plane to assist the part-time Tasmania Police Special Operations Group to respond to the Port Arthur massacre . In 2003,

884-556: The desired level of response. In 2001, SAC-PAV was renamed to the National Counter-Terrorism Committee and in 2012, with New Zealand joining, to the Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee (ANZCTC). The primary providers of law enforcement in Australia are the federal state and territories. PTGs are police tactical units established to respond to high-risk situations which are beyond

918-548: The field of battle. Khaki-colored uniforms were used officially by British troops for the first time during the 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia , when Indian troops traveled to Ethiopia. Subsequently, the British Army adopted khaki for colonial campaign dress and it was used in the Mahdist War (1884–89) and Second Boer War (1899–1902). These uniforms became known as khaki drill , versions of which are still part of

952-555: The police tactical groups. Sutton raised concerns that military-style training and collaboration with the ADF by police tactical groups could filter down to general duties officers. However, the article also raised concerns that if the ADF was given powers to respond to domestic counter terrorism incidents those powers may be abused by the ADF. Khaki This is an accepted version of this page The color khaki ( UK : / ˈ k ɑː k i / , US : / ˈ k æ k i / )

986-523: The public was aware of the existence of the SOG was by an article in The Age newspaper in 1980. In 1992, the Nine Network screened a television documentary on the SOG selection course, that included long runs, interspersed with scoffing warm beer and meat pies until the volunteers threw up, to demonstrate how drinking any alcohol while on call, would impair functioning. In 1995, following a review of

1020-451: The region, whether British or Indian, had adopted khaki uniforms for active service and summer dress. The original khaki fabric was a closely twilled cloth of linen or cotton . The impracticality of traditional bright colors such as the red coat , especially for skirmishing, was recognised early in the 19th century. A response to improved technologies such as aerial surveillance and smokeless powder , khaki could camouflage soldiers in

1054-570: The same codes and standards of counter-terrorism. PTG training is doctrinated, structured and set to a national standard which reduces inconsistent and fragmented training practices. These are designed to allow national interoperability of the PTGs if required. An example of such interoperability was the Port Arthur massacre in which the Victoria Police Special Operations Group deployed to Tasmania to assist

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1088-499: The scope or capacity of everyday policing. PTG officers directly support operational police in incidents such as sieges with specialist tactical, negotiation, intelligence and command support services. Each PTG conducts its own training, has the opportunity to train in inter-state courses and may train internationally and are able to be deployed by air, via waterways, using armoured vehicles and motorcycles if needed. The Australian Federal Police who enforce Commonwealth (Federal) law has

1122-405: Was also announced that the SOG would develop a new capability with their own tactical dogs. In 2018, it was reported that the SOG had created a Quick Response Force (QRF) to provide a rapid response to high risk incidents that can self-deploy unlike standard call-outs. Volunteers for the SOG need to successfully complete a two-week selection course, and if successful, must then successfully complete

1156-414: Was announced. Police tactical group Each state and territory maintain a PTG able to respond and resolve high-risk incidents across their jurisdiction, and inter-state when required. Police tactical groups are fundamental to the federal government's National Counter-Terrorism Plan (NCTP) to respond to major terrorist incidents in Australia. The plan initially developed in 1980, then known as

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