Seven Stamford police officers embark for Israel this week, where they will learn specialized defense tactics from Israeli military and special operations units.

Stamford Police Chief Brent Larrabee says this is a unique opportunity for the department to learn advanced homeland security and anti-terrorism measures that are recognized around the world and could be put to good use here at home.

Larrabee says Stamford already has one of only three bomb squads in the state, but with 55,000 people moving in and out of the city each day, the department needs to maintain peak vigilance.

He hopes the training, which is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, will give officers a sense of how to coordinate larger scale security operations in places like retail centers, train stations and large corporate offices, should they ever be targeted.

For security, the names of the officers going abroad are being withheld.

Larrabee says he plans to send another group for Israeli training in March.