It's not everyday you see close to 100 police officers suited up in SWAT gear all in one place.
But that was the case in Niles Township Thursday at the Michiana SWAT challenge.
Some of the officers say they take the competition pretty seriously, but also have a good time comparing their skills.
Cpl. Chad Odle with Elkhart Police Department says, "You get paid for 8 hours to come out here and shoot guns and play around in the woods, I mean who wouldn't like it."
Cpl. Odle and his team are just one of the many police departments who look forward to the SWAT challenge every year.
Each team tests their physical and mental ability in 3 different courses, an obstacle, skills, and handgun course.
Cpl. Tracy Harker with the LaGrange County Sheriff's Department says, "The competition is pretty high amongst all the officers. Every body comes out here and there's not really a lot of joking around or anything like that."
Cpl. Harker says the physical aspect is pretty tough.
The officers are required to run a quarter mile through the mud and woods, carry a 100 pound dummy, knock down barricaded doors, and shoot at targets.
All while carrying 25 pounds of equipment and trying to stay focused.
Capt. Jim Millin with the Niles Police Department says, "Mentally, you need to prepare yourself. When you have shots 50 to 100 yards, a sniper is 200 yards. If you're not thinking about it, that makes a big difference in the end."
But it's not just about the competition.
Officers say they also get to compare notes on what's happening on their streets.
Capt. Millin says, "Things seem to happen in one area and migrate to another. So you might hear from one team we're experiencing this, they barricaded a door this way or used this method, so you need to think about that."
At the end of the day, they'll admit, it's nice to know you won.
"We work with some of these teams out here, so it's nice to come out and play around if you with other teams, but it's always fun to go home and know you beat the other team" says Cpl. Odle.
11 teams competed in the this year's challenge. They're scored on their accuracy and speed of the course.
Indiana State Police took home first place for the second year in a row.
The South Bend Police Department came in second, with the Berrien County Sheriff's Department finishing third.
