READING MATERIAL: K-ISOM SPECIAL PSA BPOL

Spacial forces? We always think of the military, Bundeswehr, and Bundesheer. But there's more. The unit Polizeiliche Schutzaufgaben Ausland der Bundespolizei (PSA BPOL; formerly Personenschutz Ausland) are special forces of the German Bundespolizei tasked with protecting German foreign representations (especially embassies) in particularly vulnerable locations abroad. The unit, founded in 2008, has been subordinate to the Bundespolizeidirektion 11 in Berlin since April 2017. The current K-ISOM special issue introduces them and documents their important work.

Here's what it's about: PSA today and lots of information and good pictures. Here's the content of the K-SOM magazine:

– Personal protection in crisis areas
– 15 years of PSA
– PSA tasks & operations
– Training, equipment, armament
– Crisis/security officers & security advisors

PSA has many faces, none of which we will see. Fashionably, we see a certain trend when no uniform is worn. For those who enjoy looking, this issue is full of pictures.

Of course, there's the official PSA. All uniformed, all neat and clean in photographs. K-ISOM explains the history of the PSA and there are also interviews with the chiefs.

PSA with the current logo and in combat gear. The magazine explains the training and also features a report on the operations of police bodyguards who ensure the safety of German ambassadors in all crisis areas from Afghanistan downwards.

And they also provide accompaniment. Here is an excerpt from a K-ISOM report that shows how the drill goes when a convoy with an ambassador is attacked.

Practice is more than half of life, and the training photos tell a lot about the demanding service in the PSA.

For us, of course, a special treat: the equipment pages, where we can look in detail at what these special forces carry in terms of weapons and gear.

CONCLUSION: The K-ISOM on the PSA fills a gap. And it excitingly shows how these federal police officers work worldwide to ensure the safety of their protectees.

K-ISOM Special "Polizeiliche Schutzaufgaben Ausland der Bundespolizei" has 160 pages and costs 24 euros. It is available in well-stocked magazine stores or directly from the publisher.

K-ISOM on the Internet

This is the image film of the unit.