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.

 

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 ;-)

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

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

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

Swiss GIGG ready to storm a plane.

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

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

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.

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 !

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".

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.

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.

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...

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

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.

2e REP légionnaire with FNH Minimi.

I'm not sure what the optic is. Elcan maybe ?

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.