Naval postgraduate school monterey, california thesis

3. 
Phase III: Post Assault 
The rescue party should by no means yield to the whims of the hostages.
It must be very firm with them, and use physical force to get them out if 
necessary (Gazit, 1981, p. 126). 
Upon the completion of the assault phase, the first immediate reaction of the 
hostages and the rescue force will be a state of overconfidence and euphoria. The 
operation at this stage is far from over, and the rescue force must remain in complete 
control by focusing on returning the hostages to the proper authorities. The first step 
should be to secure the target area from any outside intervention until it has been deemed 
safe by the assault force commander. The sniper-observer element must be notified that 
the target is secured in order to minimize the chance of fratricide. Only when the assault 
force commander has stated that he is in complete control of the crisis site can follow-on 
agencies enter to conduct a handover.
All hostages must be carefully identified and accounted for properly. If there are 
any leaders within the group of hostages, those must be singled out to aid in the process 
of further identifying the rest of the hostages. The wounded and the dead should then be 
identified. The rescue force must pay particular attention not to leave any of the hostages 

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behind during the exfiltration, or take a terrorist with them instead. The terrorist can be 
hiding a grenade or some sort of explosive and set it off inside the exfiltration vehicle or 
aircraft, ruining the whole operation. The decision to repair or leave behind broken 
equipment is also critical during these moments. Contingency plans should address 
destruction procedures in the event something has to be left behind or repaired in place.
If the rescue occurs in enemy territory, the main priority for the rescue force will 
be to treat the wounded, either while waiting for the exfiltration or during their transit. If 
the operation takes place in friendly territory, then the duty to treat the injured lies with 
other agencies designated for this task; the assault force’s primary purpose is the safe 
handover of the hostages to other competent government agencies. Regardless, no 
personnel should be allowed inside the target area until it has been deemed safe by the 
assault force commander. The handover element must have capable forensics experts 
and legal personnel that will immediately take control of the site and treat it as a crime 
scene, not letting media or curious personnel enter the target area. Government officials 
must be ready to issue a public affairs statement to the press, in order to begin the process 
of quality control of information to protect the rescue force and enforce OPSEC 
measures.
The following diagram is a graphical representation of all major phases of a 
hostage rescue crisis. It includes the principles for successful hostage rescue operations 
to include the close monitoring of the hostage crisis biorhythm. The timeline in days is 
only an example to describe the process.

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Hostage Rescue
Hostage Rescue
Model
Model