12/30/2011

Special forces in Multicam with FNH SCAR and Minimi.

12/27/2011

Swiss Police DPR hand to hand / self defense training in their Dojo.

12/23/2011

After being published is German magazine "Kommando", my story and pics about Swiss Police DPR team (close protection detail) is now featured in French "Police Pro".

12/19/2011

Ready to ride !
Rappelling looks much cooler than fast roping, but tactically it is far less efficient...
A bit too slow and too complicated with all the equipment, so in a real world situation, they would rather use the fast rope. 
But still, it looks a bit like "blackhawk down" to ride like this ;-)

12/16/2011

GIGG operators gathered for a briefing in front of the EC 635 helicopter, prior to the exercise.

12/15/2011

Second day of fast rope training with GIGG.
Geneva's lake looked and felt a bit like the north sea and I was soaking wet after 5mn on the RIB boat...
The Swiss Air Force pilot did his job and nobody ended in the water ;-)
As usual with those guys, everything was smooth and professional.

12/13/2011

I have spent another nice day with the guys from swiss GIGG.
They had a Swiss Air Force EC 635 helicopter to train with all day, but unfortunately it was a rather poor weather with rain and wind... Well, the helicopter could still fly and we had good fun anyway.
We'll do it again tomorrow but on the lake this time, so more to come later ;-)

12/11/2011

French Gendarmerie "PI2G" (Peloton d'intervention de seconde génération) operator with B&T 40mm grenade launcher and Aimpoint Micro T1 red dot.

 

12/07/2011

Multicam combat diver with FNH SCAR, AIMPOINT Comp M4 and 3X MAG.

12/04/2011

French special forces 1er RPIMA INVEX squadron training for CQB in their kill house.

11/30/2011

Multicam sniper and spotter with FNH SCAR and Schmidt Bender scope.

11/23/2011

This blog is one year old today !
If you like it, please, take 5mn and share it with your friends, on forums, etc...
The more readers I have around the world, the more credibility I have when I knock on a unit's door and ask for permission to "shoot" them.
There will be some nice development in 2012, so stay tuned !





11/19/2011

Like GIGN, RAID operators can now use military Puma helicopters. They belong and are operated by "COS" (Commandement des opérations spéciales), the french "SOCOM".
That is a great tactical advantage for them, and that day they were particularly training for air assault by rope.

11/16/2011

Ready for the morning revue with those legionnaires from 2e REP second (mountain) company.

11/13/2011

This would make a nice advertising for the Audi Q7  ;-)

11/10/2011

GIPN (Groupe d'Intervention de la Police Nationale) officers. The first one is armed with a Brugger & Thomet MP9 submachine gun + Aimpoint Micro T1 red dot.

11/07/2011

French Foreign Legion 2e REP "combat diver", on a coast near Calvi, Corsica.
Very simple equipment for this training mission : FAMAS and Aqualung FROG re-breather.


11/05/2011

Armed with a Glock 19, this GIGG operator is checking the Airbus A320 seats for any hidden "Tango".

11/03/2011

Up in the mountains with legionnaires from 2e REP.
The surrounding is beautiful, but training is taken very seriously because the men know that soon they'll be in Afghanistan again, sometimes for a second or 3rd tour.
No fancy equipment here, just the "old" FAMAS and a backpack for some basic infantry tactics movements. The Legion is a very "rustic" troop and is internationally respected for that.

11/01/2011

In July, I was also allowed to spend 48 H with French Army combat divers during their qualification course. They were coming from different special forces and foreign legion regiments and will be back to their units once qualified.
The story is featured in this month's RAIDS with one of my pics on the cover.



10/30/2011

The other great Swiss team that I have followed this summer is Geneva's DPR (Détachement de Protection Rapprochée / Close Protection Team). A small but very effective and talented group of operators.
You can see the pics in this month's issue of Kommando.They will also be published next month in French Police Pro.


10/29/2011

This one is very different from what I normally publish.
A nice "malinois" dog (Belgian Sheppard ?) from Geneva's K9 bomb squad.
After all, he is also a "special operator", very faithful and useful to his team mates !
And yes, you can tell that he is Swiss from his collard ;-)

10/27/2011

French GIPN (Groupe d'intervention de la Police Nationale) operator with HK G36 and Aimpoint sight.

10/25/2011

On guard with a legionnaire.
The traditional parade uniform is unique in the French Army, with some elements dating from more than a century.

10/23/2011

French special forces "1er RPIMA" INVEX squadron doing some hostage rescue training in their kill house.

10/22/2011

Swiss GIGG ready to storm a plane.

10/19/2011

In the Corsican hills around Camp Raffalli with the 2e REP legionnaires.

10/17/2011

French RAID operator armed with an HK G36 with Eotech sight and Glock pistol during an hijacking exercise in Paris airport.

10/15/2011

The 3rd company from 2e REP is an amphibious one. Not really "combat divers" but "offensive army divers". Those guys would act like "pathfinders" to clear a path in case of an assault from the sea. They use the Aqualung FROG re-breather.

10/14/2011

If you happen to be in Paris next week for MILIPOL show, I'll be on TR EQUIPEMENT's booth 
(2 A n° 124) with a dozen of framed pictures exposed.
Stop by and say hello !

10/13/2011

It was another long night at the airport yesterday... But this time in Geneva with Swiss GIGG (Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie genevoise). A big scale exercise with a lot of units involved, 30 passengers to rescue and 3 "terrorists".

10/11/2011

Back to my tactical raid with the legionnaires. 
In the narrow streets of a small Corsican village, this sniper is ready to make his way up the many hills that surround Camp Raffalli, the 2e REP compound.
He is carrying the "old" FRF2 riffle. No scope is mounted to avoid equipment damage... Like everywhere else, money is very tight in the French Army !
You can spot a Glock knife tucked in his harness.

10/10/2011

CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) training with Swiss GIGG (Groupe d'intervention de la Gendarmerie Genevoise).
The operators are using glock pistols "blue guns" with Simunition" for training purpose. One of them is also carrying an MSA thermal image camera.

10/09/2011

Early morning physical training with the legionnaires from 2e REP in Calvi.
I already have hundreds of images that I'll show on this blog, but I'll most probably go back there next year to shoot more...

10/08/2011

Some of my French Gendarmerie pictures are published in the new Kommando special issue.

10/06/2011

I have just spent 2 days in Ireland, and I can confirm the guys are up to their reputation !
Great lads, very professional, very tough, a great sense of humor  and a fantastic sense of hospitality.
And yes, they made me drink a lot of Guinness beer ;-)
I hope to be back there soon for some interesting story with a top notch unit.

10/03/2011

2e REP légionnaire with FNH Minimi.
I'm not sure what the optic is. Elcan maybe ?

10/01/2011

I was in Paris airport Thursday with French Police Nationale counter terrorist group "RAID" for an airplane hijacking exercise.
I'll be writing a full story on RAID that'll be published early next year in Kommando magazine.

9/28/2011

If you are German, you probably already have seen my pictures from the Geneva SWAT team in the last Kommando issue. I still can't publish too many of them because the story is also going to be featured in 2 other European magazines before the end of the year...

9/25/2011

Back with the green berets.
No képi blanc this time, but the coveted green beret makes for a bad ass look too...

9/22/2011

Something completely different for a change...
You'll see much more about my Legion trip but this one is a Gendarme from Swiss Police (Geneva). He was part of an escort during a VIP protection exercise.
I have to keep a balance between the "green" and the "blue" guys ;-)

9/19/2011

Last briefing from the squad leader before the beginning of the exercise.
The "REP men" are carrying standard infantry weapons : FAMAS, MINIMI and FRF2.

9/17/2011

NCO from 2e REP before a tactical progression training in the Corsican mountains surrounding the compound. He is carrying the good old FAMAS but no optics and accessories are mounted for this exercise.

It was my first day with the Legionnaires in Calvi and they kinda tested me... The Adjudant and the Captain from the company I was going to follow looked at me and said "you look reasonably fit, you are wearing outdoor shoes, so you're coming with us for a little walk this afternoon"...
So I ended up sweating and spiting, running up and down the hills with my equipment, but I kept my mouth shut and after that, they invited me for a beer at the mess and were great hosts for the rest of the week ;-)

9/13/2011

GIPN operator (Groupe d'Intervention de la Police Nationale) with a Brügger (B&T) MP9 submachine gun with AIMPOINT Micro T1.
GIPN is a regional SWAT team / intervention group, but they also do some police work in plain clothe.

9/10/2011

Back to the Légion Étrangère 2e REP.
There was a lot of portrait shooting opportunities with those guys. Most of them looked quiet "bad ass" ! This one is carrying the FNH minimi machine gun.

9/07/2011

More from the photo shooting with the Swiss Police tactical team (GIGG) on the Geneva lake.