All of this us versus them B.S. is getting old. It is only natural for anyone to try to protect their own interest, but I think that what is being lost here is the big picture. Now don't mistake my comments for being "pro-Flynn", as there are issue that have come up in the past where I disagree with him completely.
Flynn's attempt to push people towards consolidation of services does not, in my opinion, come from a desire to take funding away from the State Police. It comes from his real-life experience in Arlington County, Virginia during the attack on the Pentagon on 9/11. He saw, first-hand, the need for cooperation and cross-training of law enforcement agencies, fire services, and EMS. To provide services during an incident of that magnitude, these jurisdictional pissing contests have to be cast aside. I have the utmost respect for the MSP, but it is naive for anyone to think that they could single handedly respond to a large scale public safey crisis, regardless of how much training money they received.
NYPD out-classes the MSP as far as manpower and resources, but I recall that in the days immediately after 9/11, they were accepting help from any available source. The plans being put in place now aren't to keep the MSP Stop Team from responding to local jurisdictions. They are being done to ensure that in the event of a major incident, there are resources available, in addition to the State Police, to properly handle anything. There is a need for additional tactical teams to train and prepare. Part of that training and preparation is handling small scale incidents in preparation for "the big one". In the event of a multiple target attack, the STOP Team will be thankful that these LEC tactical teams exist.
I completely sympathize with SPAM, I understand that their responsibility is to protect the interests of its members, however, this issue is bigger than they are. The smart thing to do would be to embrace the changes, train with the LEC's so there is commonality in response, protocols, and terminology. That way, in the unfortunate event that half of their team gets wiped out, they can pick up equally capable operators and continue with the mission. In addition, if SPAM were to take this approach, they would get a piece of that coveted grant money that they feel they are being screwed out of.
Lastly, I think its completely unfair to categorize LEC tactical guys as little boys in BDU's getting their rocks off by playing SWAT. Granted, they may not have the same training time under their belts as their STOP Team counterparts, but many of them have received excellent training. Let's be honest, anyone who gets involved in tac-ops gets a charge out of it. If not, they wouldn't be right for the job. Tac-ops for any agency or jurisdiction is an elitist position (SEALS, Special Forces, LAPD, whoever) anyone who does not consider themselves or their team as the best isn't worth their salt.
Oh, look, I rambled....but what to I know? 8)