Watching Lt. Gary Yancey focus the spotlight on a fellow officer at this year’s Greater Blackfoot Chamber of Commerce’s Law Enforcement and First Responders Appreciation Luncheon, reminded me that sometimes the truly powerful people are content to be in the background.

Perhaps Yancey's demeanor also comes from his 20 years of service in the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office and his many years of service on the STAR team.

Starting out as a full-time reserve officer on the night shift, after working in construction during the day, Yancey was determined to be a regular deputy and “out on the road,” which he soon achieved. This placed him in the right place at the right time to join the fledgling SRT team that was started by the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office and joined by the Blackfoot Police Department.

You might know these teams by their more common SWAT team acronym. The first SWAT teams arose after widespread and unpredictable sniper attacks and the Watts Riot – the first one, in 1965. Two years later the LAPD formed a SWAT team, which was first proposed to stand for Special Weapons Attack Team. That was quickly changed to the less aggressive sounding Special Weapons and Tactics Team. The local team that was formed in 1974 opted for being the Special Response Team or SRT.

As the SRT’s training and skills in critical situations became known they were called upon throughout Southeast Idaho, growing to be a team of 17 trained and certified officers. In 2009, 35 years after being formed, they became the STAR (Special Tactics and Response) Team and signed service agreements with the sheriff’s offices in Bingham, Bannock, Power, Oneida, Caribou, Franklin, and Bear Lake counties. Their team’s ranks then nearly doubled to 32 officers to adequately serve the seven counties.

Yancey was a part of the STAR Team’s growth through the years and now this dedication and experience is acknowledged by being voted to be their commander. Sergeant Jon Croxford, also a Bingham County deputy, was voted to be the assistant commander. Together they will lead the team as they continue to handle hostage situations, high risk searches and arrests, crowd control needs, VIP protection, and active shooter situations - this generation’s version of the original sniper threats that contributed to the need for such specialized law enforcement teams over 50 years ago.

As of 2015 there were 1000 SWAT teams nationwide. Not every county has access to these professionals. Our region is fortunate to have trained specialists nearby. And, the STAR Team is fortunate to have Commander Gary Yancey.