United States Department of Justice

“ Each FBI field office has a SWAT team which is composed of specially-trained individuals-who can be detailed from their usual investigative responsibilities to act as a team to handle dangerous operations. SWAT teams from several FBI field offices were utilized in Waco. ”

“ The members of this team have extensive training and experience in negotiations and negotiation techniques. Initially, there were two shifts, or cells, of negotiations at Waco with approximately five individuals assigned to each cell. One of these five would be the primary negotiator, and would have the responsibility of direct communications with those inside the compound. After a few weeks, it was decided to increase the number of negotiation cells to three. Twenty-five different individuals, both male and female, served~as primary negotiators. ”

“ Vernon Howell, a/k/a David Koresh [2] engaged in 117 conversations with negotiators lasting approximately 60 hours.
Although, as will be discussed later in this report, there is some question whether or not there were ever any true negotiations with actual "give and take" on each side, a significant number of individuals did exit the compound. [3] These can be summarized as follows:
Additionally, 9 adults left the compound during the fire on April 19. Therefore, 44 people (21 children and 23 adults) left the compound at one time or another during the standoff. ”