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SABT Matt Tarabour graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1996 with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. He served on active duty as a Naval Surface Warfare Officer from 1996 to 1999, and as a Special Operations Officer (EOD) from 2000 to 2007. After graduating from the Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal in July 2002, he served operational tours with EOD Mobile Unit EIGHT in Italy and Naval Special Clearance Team ONE in San Diego, including deployments throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. In August 2005, he served for six months as the Officer in Charge of the Iraqi Bomb Disposal School, helping to create that country’s initial C-IED/EOD capability.
After joining the FBI in February 2007, he served three years in the New Orleans Division working International and Domestic Terrorism. In October 2010, he transferred to Los Angeles, assigned as a Special Agent Bomb Technician to the FBI Hazardous Devices Operations Center (HDOC)-Los Angeles Stabilization Team. He is also a lead instructor for the FBI Underwater Post Blast Investigations Course and has worked extensively on policy development for the FBI HDOC Maritime Program.
Among the goals of the FBI HDOC Maritime Program is to improve the capability of the Nation’s bomb squads to counter IED’s in the Maritime environment by standardizing civilian bomb squad render safe and countermeasures training above and below the waterline, in accordance with the requirements of the HSPD-19/PPD-17 Implementation Plan. This plan proposes development of an FBI HDOC/HDS accredited Maritime Operations for Bomb Technicians (MOBT) COI for maritime operations above the waterline; and accreditation of Regional Underwater Hazardous Device Team (UHDT) “task forces” nationwide that will maintain the capability to safely and efficiently respond to and mitigate suspected, threatened, or actual underwater and waterborne IED’s. The objective of these programs will be to bridge the gap between the capabilities and responsibilities of the first responder community (primarily bomb squads and public safety dive teams) and those of the United States Navy’s EOD teams.
