Names

How does the presidential guard work? Interview with the president's bodyguard (2 photos). Bodyguards of the British Queen and the Prime Minister

Around this topic, there are a huge number of the most controversial myths and legends. The protection of the first persons of the state existed at all times and it included the best warriors of the squad. Such a service has always been considered honorable and often had a ceremonial character, when fighters in colorful uniforms rather determined the status of the monarch. Currently, the functions of protection and protocol are clearly delineated, and each of them has its own field of activity.

The president's security service is usually presented in the form of strong guys accompanying him everywhere, as well as in the form of motorcades. In fact, this is only the visible and not the most significant part of the work of this structure. The protection of the first person of the state is a set of measures that are constantly carried out by special organizations of the state.

Security services of the first persons of the state in different countries

In our country, ensuring the security of the President is entrusted to a special unit formed as part of the FSO. The Federal Security Service was formed on July 19, 1991 by a special decree of the head of state. During its existence, several attempts on the life of the President were prevented both within the country and during foreign trips.

In the United States of America, the Secret Service, founded on April 14, 1865, performs similar tasks. Its functions are as follows:

protection of the first persons and members of their families;
prevention of counterfeiting of American currency and other securities and documents;
investigation of certain types of crimes.
The work of this unit is aimed at identifying potential threats to the facility and suppressing them at the preparation stage.
Development of plans to eliminate the danger for the first person and transfer them for execution to other units.
Direct round-the-clock physical protection of the President during trips, at work and at the place of his stay.

The Secret Service currently has 4,400 employees and a budget of $1.2 billion. The tasks of this division have been expanded, including in the field of combating cybercrime, ensuring law and order during mass events.

The protection of the August family in England is carried out by the Royal Guard, one of the most privileged parts of the British Army. This unit is nicknamed bearskins for some of the details of their dress uniform in the form of high fur hats. They carry out guard duty at the residence of the monarch and accompany trips, perform ceremonial functions. There is a similar bodyguard for the Pontiff; the Infantry Cohort of the Swiss of the Holy Guard of the Pope is stationed in the Vatican.

General principles of organization of protection

Ensuring the security of presidents in each of the countries has certain features. At the same time, the general principles of organizing the security service are almost the same:

Ensuring security in the open space of the head of state is based on the principle of concentric circles. At a long distance, the situation is controlled by snipers located on dominant points. Their task is to suppress the possibility of shelling from the maximum range of destruction. When an object is threatened, they have the right to open fire in order to suppress aggressive actions.

The middle circle consists of employees who are in the crowd and constantly monitor the situation. Their task is to prevent the terrorists from breaking through to the protected person. Such agents do not stand out from the crowd in any way and in most cases they do not attract the attention of others and control the situation in the selected sector.

Only security officers are present in sight - bodyguards of the inner circle whose main task is to identify the threat at the right time and stop it. In the hands and they have folding protective screens that instantly open and cover the sectors of fire. The selection of employees in the inner circle is carried out with great care. As a last resort, they should not hesitate to cover the President with their body.

The structure of the security service

Ensuring the protection of the first person involves the constant implementation of a set of measures. This is done not only directly by the Security Service of the President, but also by other structures of the FSO, FSB, SVR, FSK and other units. All information related to the security of the head of state flows to the analytical department. Its employees identify any potential threats and inform the management of the service.

On the basis of the received data, countermeasure operations are planned. Other divisions are directly involved in the detention of perpetrators, and when traveling abroad, law enforcement agencies of the host country. Thus, an assassination attempt on the Russian President in Turkey was prevented.

Specialization of security personnel

In addition to the direct bodyguards of the near, middle and far circles, there are other agents in the unit. Much attention is paid to the training of drivers from the special purpose garage (GON). These are real professionals capable of driving multi-ton armored vehicles at high speeds. Drivers train daily in the ability to evade pursuit or perform other extreme driving techniques.

The President's security service also has employees of technical services who constantly scan the air in all ranges. They provide a stable connection between structural units and individual employees. Specialists also check food and water for the presence of poisons, as well as radiation dangerous to humans. The Security Service of the President has every opportunity to prevent an assassination attempt and other aggressive manifestations.

Our PSC tries to approach the performance of its duties with the same responsibility, whether office security, restaurants or any other facilities.

Chapter 12

How are US presidents protected?

After three high-profile murders in the 60s, America lived quietly for only four years. In May 1972, a terrorist wounded another US presidential candidate, George Wallace, and three years later, America witnessed two assassination attempts at once against the incumbent President Gerald Ford.

On September 5, 1975, in Sacramento, California, a certain Linet Fromm attempted to kill the 62-year-old president of America with a pistol. At that moment, when he was heading from the hotel to the legislative assembly building, a terrorist jumped out of the crowd and pointed a gun at Ford.

However, the bodyguard from the close guard was slightly faster than her and, before she could pull the trigger, knocked the weapon out of her hands.

Only seventeen days passed after this incident, as in another California city, in San Francisco, on September 22, a certain Sarah Moore (again a woman!) Again tried to shoot the US president from a distance of fifteen meters. However, a policeman who was standing nearby hit her on the arm with a pistol, the bullet went down and wounded a random person with a ricochet.

Since the assassin's bullets killed US President D. Kennedy in 1963, the Secret Service at the White House has undergone major changes. If in the same 1963 its strength was only 412 people, then by the mid-70s it had grown to two thousand. New legislative acts were developed that expanded the rights of protection and obliged the president to reckon with her demands and advice.

“We like to say we hear the president's 'heartbeat',” says Dennis McCarthy, a US Secret Service veteran. “At any moment, he can simply raise his knee to press the “special alarm” button, which is located under the cover of his desk, and in two seconds we will be next to him in the Oval Office. In other cases, everything depends on the proximity of the crowd. At the White House, we try not to disturb the peace of the president and his family. No one can get to his floor without passing Secret Service agents."

When the president is in the Oval Office, the most vigilant agents are in the southern part of the park. From here you can see the Oval Office very well. It is also visible because of the low lattice surrounding the presidential residence. Crowds of tourists or just passers-by constantly roam around it.

For safety reasons, the terrain in this part of the park has been deliberately changed. If someone tried to fire a shot in the direction of the Oval Office, the bullet would never reach it. She will get stuck in a tree, a specially raised flower bed, a concrete flower bed, which form a kind of "defensive rampart" on the outskirts of the Oval Office. The Secret Service calculated any bullet trajectory and completely eliminated the hit thanks to the redrawn terrain.

However, tourists do not only roam around the White House. At certain hours, they can pass in groups to its territory. Part of the residence itself is also open to tourists. Approximately one million two hundred thousand visitors come here every year. The Secret Service carefully “filters” them. Special equipment makes sure that no one enters with a weapon.

In short, the White House is a vibrant government center. Over 216,000 official visitors and over 18,000 guests come here every year.

During this time, 88 thousand authorized postmen, employees of a special service for the delivery of government papers and documents, pass through. Permanent passes to the territory of the White House have 5,400 people, of which 2,000 are accredited journalists ...

The Secret Service in the United States is subordinated not to the FBI, not to the CIA, but to the Treasury Department. Within the perimeter of the White House itself, there are five hundred uniformed officers and the same number of plainclothes agents on duty. There are another hundred people from the technical staff. These are the experts in checking the shipments coming into the White House. They also inspect photo and television equipment brought in by reporters.

In the White House, the Secret Service has its own command post (right under the Oval Office of the President), where all information from agents converges and where they receive instructions from: A special missile unit located on the territory of the White House keeps in constant contact with the point. The park is camouflaged with installations with small surface-to-air missiles, and part of the unit is equipped with hand rockets. No helicopter or aircraft may approach or fly over the White House without permission. If there is no permission, a signal will follow from the command post, and the object will be shot down.

The President of the United States usually uses a helicopter, leaving at the end of the week to rest in the country residence of Camp David. If he needs to be at the Andrews Air Force Base, where his presidential jet is stationed, or visit a hospital in the suburbs of Washington, the helicopter is called again. Or rather, two helicopters. One sits down on the South Lawn of the White House and picks up the President. Another at this moment with secret agents is hanging in the air "for cover."

But the president leaves the White House in a limousine. It is a noisy and impressive sight. The gates open, and a detachment of motorcyclist police officers, lined up in a square, jumps out of them. Then follows a car with security agents, followed by a presidential limousine, decorated with the national flag and the standard of the head of state, and then again Secret Service cars. The streets resound with the howling of sirens, flashing numerous signal lights. For car drivers on the street, this is also a signal: they are required to clear the roadway, snuggle up to the sidewalks and stop. The same rule applies, by the way, in the case when the siren of a fire engine or an ambulance is heard. If the driver does not obey the established rule and, God forbid, not he, but even he is hit by a fireman or an ambulance, a huge fine will still fall on him ... This is how L. Koryavin talks about the work of the US Secret Service.

And now we turn again to D McCarthy. He's writing:

“When the cortege moves off and follows the city, the speed should not exceed 15 kilometers. This is done so that the Secret Service agents who run next to the presidential limousine can get into the escort car in time or arrive in time for the president if necessary. While walking around the city, we monitor the roofs of houses, windows, doors. Usually three possible routes are prepared. They are studied in advance. Only one agent sitting in the lead car knows the route the cortege will take. Once the president gets into the car, there can be no stops. Latecomers are not expected. It happened that we abandoned senators, officials and even ... the wife of the president.

The Secret Service has lists of suspicious individuals and dossiers on them. The Secret Service knows their addresses and monitors their movements.

... We have no right to interfere during the democratic process. The demonstrators can shout the most offensive words at the president, and the Secret Service will not interfere. Until the demonstrators start raising, say, banners, we cannot consider them as a threat to the head of state...

We don't try to be invisible. We want people to see us, to realize that we are present. It has a certain psychological effect. The attacker gets nervous and makes mistakes. As for the famous dark glasses, we wear them for two reasons: they protect the eyes in the event that someone splashes paint or acid in the face (and this happened), this is firstly, and, secondly, for dark glasses can not see where we are looking at the moment. It also has a psychological effect."

And now the story of L. Koryavin about the trips of the US President abroad:

“The president's trip abroad is a special topic. Everyone is preparing for it - the White House apparatus, the Secret Service and, of course, the journalistic corps. Prepare carefully and well in advance. Usually, up to four hundred people accompany the head of state on a trip. But there are state visits when this number reaches a thousand ...

Before visiting abroad, a "forward unit" of officials and Secret Service personnel is also sent. On the spot, they work out all the details of the visit with the authorities and their security agencies. They inspect and check the premises with special equipment, study the routes of movement. They play scenarios of possible contingencies. They study every intersection, every street: the angles of fire are measured, it is predetermined where the motorcade of cars should keep what speed, although the presidential limousine is a fortress on wheels. It is armored, with impenetrable glass, with self-sealing, self-vulcanizing tires, in case they get hit by a bullet.

Limousines - not one, but four - are also sent abroad with the president. They are loaded onto transport aircraft along with spare parts kits. Even the Marine Corps No. 1 helicopter, which the president uses, goes on a voyage with him, being in the fuselage of a giant transport liner. All this is explained by the fact that the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and must travel only in his own transport, equipped with special communication equipment ... "

In conclusion, I note that the US Secret Service has about a hundred of its offices in all states in its own country. In addition, five of them are located in the largest cities of the world - Paris, London, Bonn, Rome, Bangkok.

The US Secret Service has its own training center in Glyncoe, Georgia. There, recruits undergo their first training for nine weeks. After completing this course, recruits are sent to serve in one of the hundred "field offices" of the Secret Service. After five or eight years of work, some of these agents are awarded "award" and enlisted in the staff of the protection of the President of the United States.

This text is an introductory piece.

The Federal Security Service (FSO) of the Russian Federation is the legal successor of the former 9th Directorate of the KGB of the USSR. In September 1991, the FSO was removed from the KGB and transformed into the Security Directorate, which included the Presidential Security Service with the Main Security Directorate. The Main Directorate of Protection, in turn, since 1996 was reorganized and became known as the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. The FSO is considered an elite special service, where rather high requirements are imposed on candidates on many issues.

The head of the FSO is FSO General Dmitry Kochnev.

Tasks of the security service

The main tasks of the FSO include:

Guarantee of security at state facilities at their locations and on the routes of travel;
Forecast and disclosure of alleged threats to the interests of state protection facilities, the implementation of a set of measures that will prevent these threats;
Identification and prevention of attacks on objects with state protection and on the protected objects themselves, which may house federal or state authorities that may be adjacent to the above objects, or water areas, as well as objects that may be adjacent to these territories and water areas that are under operational management of state security bodies;
Identification and prevention of all kinds of offenses in the area of protected objects, as well as on them;
Taking part, within the limits of their authority, in activities related to the fight against terrorism;
Organizational measures to provide special communications;
Taking part in activities related to the development and implementation of measures to ensure the information security of Russia, as well as counteracting the technical intelligence departments and protecting information that has state secrets;
Participation in information-technological and information-analytical support of government agencies, maintenance and software support, which are equipped with information and telecommunication systems and situational centers, as well as in information support for government agencies in emergency situations or with the declaration of martial law;
Measures to ensure your own safety.

Emblem of the Federal Security Service

About the federal security service

There is not much about the Federal Information Protection Service itself. It is known that it is a power structure that is engaged in protecting the lives of senior government officials. The objects of protection of the FSO are presidents, prime ministers, speakers of the State Duma and the Federation Council, the head of the Presidential Administration and his deputies, the chairman of the Security Council, the director of the FSB, the chairman of the Central Election Commission, the ministers of defense and internal affairs.

The rest of the government officials are protected by the FSO only after a corresponding presidential decree. To date, FSO officers are engaged in the protection of about forty top officials of the state. The main tasks that are solved by the FSO employees are the disclosure and prevention of any threats to protected persons, measures to ensure their safety at all points of their stay.

The structure of the Russian FSO

The structure of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation has different divisions, even those that, it would seem, have nothing to do with it. So the organizational structure includes:

Special Communications and Information Service;
Service of the Commandant of the Moscow Kremlin (with the Presidential Regiment, the Presidential Orchestra);
Special purpose garage;
SK FSO;
Academy of the FSO of Russia.

Recently, the Academy of the Federal Security Service of Russia celebrated the fiftieth graduation

In addition, in all federal districts of the country there are different structural divisions of the FSO. As for the Departments of the Federal Security Service of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Saratov, Rostov or any other Russian city or region, the tasks of this state structure remain the same, namely ensuring the safety of the first government officials. These officers guard special highways and foreign delegations.

FSO of the Russian President

The FSO of our president is an elite unit, even according to the criteria of the FSO itself. Dozens of FSO officers serve in it. The service includes not only the so-called "art historians in civilian clothes" (secret employees of the FSO), but also special forces soldiers who are armed with heavy and light small arms. At any departure of the "first" on all routes of motorcade No. 1, hundreds of FSO officers are on duty.

The presidential special forces of the FSO are armed with machine guns, sniper rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers and even Osa MANPADS. The commandos are able to enter into direct resistance to put up fierce resistance against a well-equipped army battalion. As part of the FSO special forces officers guarding the first person, there are specialists who are proficient in sniper, diving, as well as specialists in other narrow areas.

Special communications FSO

One of the most significant subdivisions in the structure of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation is the Special Communications and Information Service. The main task of this secret structure is to provide reliable government communications. The special communications service has been part of the FSO since 2004, after the abolition of FAPSI. The first deputy director of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation was appointed to lead the special communications.

In addition to organizing state and government communications, the FSO special communications service is also involved in ensuring its safe operation. The functional duties of special communications include some more tasks. In addition to providing communications for the president, this structure provides for the diplomatic missions of Russia outside our country, ensures information security, counteracts the technical intelligence of foreign states, and is also engaged in other activities related to maintaining the secrecy regime.

Where are FSO officers trained?

Specialists with higher education study at the FSO Academy in Orel. This is the only university in our country that has such a profile. Recently, the Academy of the FSO has at its disposal the Voronezh Institute of the FSO, which is its branch and trains specialists in this field.

Special attention is also paid to the training of rank and file in the Service, because they are required to have an impeccable command of hand-to-hand combat techniques, as well as service weapons. Bodyguards train at the Balashikha base, as well as in a specially equipped gym in the Kremlin. Driver training is carried out at a special training ground.

Taking into account the specifics of President Putin's hobbies, his bodyguards, among other things, are also engaged in highly specialized training, for example, special courses of action in the forges. And before the Sochi Olympic Games in 2014, professional yachting equipment and suits were purchased for the FSO. Of course, all bodyguards must undergo anti-terrorist training.

Appearance of FSO employees

The form of the FSO deserves special attention. For example, the everyday form of bodyguards, which are called "personalists", is a classic suit.

At internal events, the uniform of the FSO servicemen is almost no different from the general army, with the exception of the blue-black color. The shoulder straps of military personnel are also blue-black with blue stripes, except, of course, for generals. In addition, military personnel have several types of military uniforms. For example, the Presidential Regiment of the FSO outwardly differs from the representatives of the FSO.

Security Worker's Day

December 20 is the Day of security workers. Like everyone else with the rest of the Russian special services, FSO employees also celebrate it. On this day in 1917, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR issued a Decree on the creation of the Cheka, which became the forerunner of all current special services.

This day is celebrated by the entire Service in its entirety: both contract servicemen and conscripts. On such days, as a rule, awards are given to especially distinguished servicemen. The special service itself was awarded two departmental medals: "For military valor", as well as "For distinction in military service", there are all three degrees. At the same time, the salary of bodyguards remains sealed. Although, according to some reports, it is not higher than that of ordinary military personnel, and even that has been cut since 2015, for failing to comply with FP standards.

Former Putin bodyguard Alexei Dyumin (now governor of the Tula region and, it is believed, one of his possible successors as president): “We have had enough of such things and moments that were associated with threats to the security of the head of state. About some of these things, maybe in a certain number of years it will be possible to tell, remember something ... They are still under the stamp.

Dyumin (left) with Putin

Putin during a dive on the Mir-1 deep-sea submersible to the bottom of Lake Baikal, 2009. © RIA Novosti / Reuters

In 2012, a few days before the presidential election, which Putin was running for the third time, the Kremlin and the secret services “sensationally” announced that they had thwarted an assassination attempt on him, conceived by Chechen separatists from the territory of Ukraine. And that in total, since 2001, at least four assassination attempts have been prepared on Putin.

Tambov, 2012

For the past 16 years, since Putin came to power in 2000, the FSO has been led by a former Leningrad security official, General Evgeny Murov. In May 2016, he was dismissed due to his 70th birthday (the age limit for civil servants).

Evgeny Murov. © Gennady Cherkasov, MK

His place was taken by Dmitry Kochnev, whom the media called "a man without a biography," since at that time there was no information about him on the websites of the Kremlin and the FSO. Now there is only a short "summary" with very general wording, for example: "From 1984 to 2002. served in the law enforcement agencies of the USSR and the Russian Federation.

Action "Immortal Regiment", May 2016 Kochnev - in the photo on the right

The FSO, under the name SR-1 (“special development”), is armed with a Serdyukov pistol (named after the creator, who, by coincidence, is the namesake of the former Minister of Defense). This 9mm armor-piercing pistol was developed in Russia from scratch, is not classified, but is known exclusively to weapons experts and is considered one of the best modern pistols in the world. They say that even in the hands of a mediocre shooter, he shows excellent accuracy. Its latest modification can be used with a laser sight and a silencer, as in this photo from the Oboronexpo 2014 exhibition, where the head of the military-industrial complex Dmitry Rogozin and American action actor (and more recently a Russian citizen) Steven Seagal admire the gun.

Barack Obama and the US Secret Service

In a strange way, this federal agency simultaneously performs two fundamentally different tasks: protecting the president and his family and fighting counterfeiting American money. Unlike their Russian "colleagues", they talk about themselves in some detail on the official website. For example, they openly report that they have about 3,200 special agents, 1,300 security guards of the White House and other important facilities, and more than 2,000 "auxiliary" employees (technicians, managers, etc.) - a total of 6,500 people.

Presidential candidate Obama surrounded by bodyguards, 2008

Obama was privy to the workings of the Secret Service as early as 18 months before the election - far earlier than any other presidential candidate in the history of the United States. According to rumors, this was done to reassure his wife Michelle, who had every reason to fear that the first black leader and his family would have many more radical haters. Over time, this proved to be true - experts say that the Secret Service has never before faced such challenges and risks as under Obama.

Inaugural parade in Washington, 2009. Far left in a bright red tie - the current head of the Secret Service, Joe Clancy

The Secret Service is constantly receiving cutting-edge developments, from face-recognition gadgets to the latest armored vehicles. Obama drives a Cadillac with military-grade armor and 20cm-thick doors that don't have keyholes. The code name of this car is "Stagecoach", the popular nickname is "The Beast". Inside the limousine, the president is completely cut off from the outside world, but is equipped with reliable means of communication. According to rumors, the Secret Service has about a dozen absolutely identical Cadillacs.

Obama and his "Beast"

But the human factor is more important than any technology, and it has let the agency down more than once, seriously undermining security. So, in 2012, at the Summit of the Americas in Colombia, Obama's guards ordered prostitutes to their hotel and, possibly, used drugs. One of the priestesses of love stated that if she were a terrorist, she could do anything, because the client slept peacefully in her presence. The guilty were recalled in disgrace. Obama was furious and called them "stupid", and the service was forced to tighten the charter.

Dania Suarez, one of the prostitutes involved in the scandal However, in 2014, when a woman was put in charge of the Secret Service for the first time in history, it almost got worse. In the spring, three of Obama's bodyguards were expelled from Amsterdam because one of them was lying drunk in the corridor of a hotel, and the other two did not prevent him from getting drunk. A new scandal erupted in the same autumn: a man with a knife entered the White House by jumping over the fence. The alarm at the entrance did not work because it was disabled due to a malfunction. The intruder overpowered a female security guard at the door and entered the banquet hall, where he was grabbed by an agent who was already on his way home from work. The head of the Secret Service was fired.

Donald Trump and the SEALs

According to rumors, long before the election of the President of the United States, when Trump was a "simple billionaire", he hired in his personal protection entirely former Secret Service agents and soldiers of the Navy SEALs, an elite special forces unit.

And Trump's main bodyguard since the late 1990s has been a former NYPD detective with a naval background, Keith Schiller.

He is said to be infinitely loyal to Trump and his family, and is more experienced than many current Secret Service agents. "Mild and kind" in life, but "fast and merciless" in work, Schiller managed to become famous for public brawls. He first drew attention to himself in 2007, when he restrained professional wrestler Vince McMahon, who jokingly tried to attack the billionaire. And lately, he has been famously cracking down on those dissatisfied with Trump's anti-immigrant policies.

"Fight" with McMahon

Bodyguards of Petro Poroshenko

In May 2016, the Ukrainian media burst into catchy headlines in the spirit of: "Poroshenko's bodyguards are recognized as the best in Europe." The presidential security team then took 1st place in the Bodyguard-2016 all-around championship, where, in addition to Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Romania, Georgia, Bulgaria and Poland represented Europe.

Winning Team

One of the performances during the competition

Bodyguards for the Ukrainian leader are provided by the State Security Department. It has about 3 thousand employees, mostly conscripts, but there are contract soldiers, as well as civilian personnel working under an employment contract. The investigative journalism program “Schemes” (a joint creation of the Ukrainian “First” channel and Radio Liberty) showed how to distinguish the guards in the crowd: they “talk into the hand” and are dressed in the same type of jackets with the department’s badge on the lapel.

The same journalists were surprised to find agents among Poroshenko's bodyguards who had previously accompanied Viktor Yanukovych. However, the head of the State Protection Department, Valery Geletey, replied that “it would be crazy to get rid of people who are professionals, but have previously worked with someone else.”

In turn, the bloggers identified foreign mercenaries near Poroshenko, dressed in American-made uniforms and armed with Belgian submachine guns. Presumably, they are from the Polish special forces, working for the private security firm Aegis Defense Services, headquartered in London. For the “Westernizer” Poroshenko, the choice is not surprising, because even the US Department of Defense hired Aegis employees for hundreds of millions of dollars for their operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Angela Merkel and the SG department

The protection of the German chancellor is engaged in ... the criminal police. It is subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior, and not to the governments of the federal states, like the ordinary police. Officers for close protection are selected in the so-called SG department (German: Sicherungsgruppe - “support group”).

They must have "steadfast character, perfect physical training and excellent manners", drive special protection vehicles, shoot accurately and "react quickly and adequately in all situations."

Merkel with handsome bodyguards, 2011

In addition, all bodyguards are medical specialists capable of providing emergency assistance. This came in handy, for example, in December 2014, when Merkel fell and suffered a pelvic injury while skiing with her escort in the Swiss Alps.

Bodyguards of the British Queen and the Prime Minister

Members of the royal family and the government are protected by the Protection Team, which is part of the Special Operations Department of the London Police. The officers of the Team are mostly armed, unlike most British police officers who do not carry firearms and do not even have a license for them (it is quite difficult to obtain and keep one, and a shooting resulting in the death of anyone, including a criminal, is being investigated from all over the world). severity).

The security of the British prime minister is considered one of the best in the world, although it happened that agents behaved strangely unprofessional. In 2014, some guy just ran up and pushed David Cameron on the street. The stranger was tied up, but while they were fiddling with him, Cameron remained completely alone. As a former employee of the Protection Team explained, he was supposed to be covered up quickly put in a car, saving him from other possible encroachments.

And in the defenders of Elizabeth II there are also these brave guys - the Guards Grenadiers guarding the royal residences.

Everyone mistakenly considers them a palace “decoration” and tourist fun, but in fact they are fully combat-ready units of the British army, where they take the best of the best. For the military, serving in the Royal Guard is a special honor, despite the gross disrespect and constant mockery of tourists.

By the way, the guardsmen are not unresponsive, as is commonly believed. They have the right to shout at especially clingy ones and sharply point a rifle with a bayonet at them. And if this does not work, they can arrest the offender or call for help.

Their dress uniforms include the famous 45 cm high bearskin hats. They are believed to have been originally worn to appear taller and more formidable to the enemy and to enhance the impression in parades. Traditionally, they are sewn from the skins of North American black bears (or brown, dyed black), and one skin is entirely used for one hat. Naturally, animal rights activists protest furiously. It happens that due to a long motionless standing in such hats in the heat, the guardsmen lose consciousness. By the way, contrary to popular belief, it weighs a little - only 1.5 pounds (less than 700 grams).

The Pope and the Swiss Guard

Another "toy" army, fit only for colorful ceremonies, some consider the Swiss Guards of the Vatican in their funny uniforms and with medieval weapons. Their number is approximately 135 people.

However, it is they who for 500 years (since the time when Swiss soldiers served in European royal courts) have been ensuring the personal security of one of the most influential figures on the planet, because the Pope heads the largest Catholic Church in the Christian world, and his protection is an extremely responsible matter.

Only unmarried Swiss Catholics from 19 to 30 years old, at least 1.74 m tall, who have been trained in the Swiss Armed Forces, can get into the guard. After the assassination attempt on John Paul II in Vatican Square in 1981, when the Pope received four gunshot wounds and lost a lot of blood, the Swiss Guard stepped up its security role. During training, hand-to-hand combat and shooting skills are honed.

In addition to outdated weapons (halberds, spears, swords, swords), which are used for ceremonies, the bodyguards are armed with modern army pistols and machine guns, German Heckler & Koch MP7 submachine guns, as well as ... pepper spray. After serving at least 3 years, the guardsmen can marry and continue to serve.

By the way, the salary of the guardsmen is relatively low when compared with the average salary in Western Europe - 1300 euros per month (in Italy it is higher, in "poor" Spain it is higher, not to mention other countries), but it is not taxed, and plus it Free accommodation and meals are provided.

Tags , ,