Jusko Ismir, Special Unit Instructor
{gallery}newsletters/12/2/1{/gallery}The Instructor of special police units and teams for close protection of persons, martial arts master, Jusko Ismir, reveals details on approaches to the never-ending training of our special units.
Jusko Ismir has vast experience in working with special units and teams for close protection of persons in BiH, both in training them and in serving among special units and bodyguards. Our special units are responsible for all excessively dangerous police activities in combating organized crime and terrorism.
Versatile training
Applying for and joining special units is mostly a voluntary act. However, the tests an applicant has to pass in order to get in are extremely selective and tough, both physically and psychologically. First tests are written testing of knowledge. This is followed by oral testing and various psycho-physical tests, which should ensure the candidate’s utmost preparedness to work in the field.
“However, the true psychological and physical readiness is often not shown before a real life task emerges, when a person usually feels insecurity and fear, which can sometimes be very dangerous,” Ismir says.
Basic training lasts from six months to a year, but since a working day of every member of the special units includes daily training, we can say that their training never ends.
“They are trained in all martial arts applicable in real combat, because close contact is very frequent in real-life situations,” says Ismir, who himself is a master of a number of martial arts and who has committed himself in the past 18 years to studying martial arts applicable in special units and teams working on close protection of people. Besides this, the training is equally focused on the use of various sorts of weapons. It is very risky to favor one or the other aspect of training – direct confrontation or use of weapons – because one can never know when such favoring might have lethal outcome. This is why it is very important that special unit members are trained to subdue and put a person under control in the shortest time possible, which can be achieved only through good knowledge of martial arts and special action activities, including the ability to use fire arms.
Competitions and Successes
{gallery}newsletters/12/2/2{/gallery}Bosnia and Herzegovina has multiple special police units, of which the youngest is the one within the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), established five years ago. They are all exceptionally good and of high quality and are keeping up with the latest trends in the world of security. They are using the latest equipment and are being educated all over the world. The results that they are achieving in physical readiness can easily counteract the results that Olympic athletes are achieving.
“Our special forces have repeatedly shown their skills at international competitions and the best result that they have achieved so far was being among the top five in the world,” Ismir says. “What is of extreme importance to our boys is the help from the international community, which there really is no lack of.”
Any forms of training our special units cannot get in BiH, are offered at training grounds in other countries. As Ismir concludes, they are working with entity police structures, representatives of the international community, neighboring, but other European countries as well. We can be proud of their contribution to BiH security.
Jasna PEKIĆ
Photo: Private archive
