In the last days of January, winter training of the police officers of the Special Police Unit - Mountain Unit took place. The training took place in a natural environment, simulating real situations. Its main objective was to train the police officers to use the knowledge acquired from working in a mountainous region in all branches of operative work.

We mountaineers are aware that there is no absolute safety in the mountains; however, with adequate preparation we can significantly contribute to safety, lower risks and avoid dangers in time. Using knowledge and adequate equipment, we decrease subjective dangers, while with good preparation and experience we learn to recognise objective dangers in the mountains. So, in extreme circumstances only well-trained and well-equipped police officers can perform their tasks successfully and in time and do everything possible to avoid accidents and injuries.

The winter training of the mountain unit was thematically designed on the principle of performing tasks on very demanding terrain, which may take two or more days, with the tactical presumption that a dangerous person on the run was attempting to leave Slovenia via the Košuta mountain ridge.

For transport of the unit, the police officers used the new PPE VW TUAREG off-road vehicles for the first time, which demonstrated their excellent driving characteristics on forest roads covered with ice and snow.

When the unit moved over the terrain, choosing a safe path needed to be considered in view of the avalanche danger, safe walking using alpinist gear and at the same time, disguised movement considering the given task, setting up a bivouac or snow hole, and the organisation of work at the observation spot as well as blockades of possible crossings of the mountain ridge.

The choice of mode of movement was made on the terrain itself, considering the actual weather conditions, the results of assessing the dangers of avalanche and the terrain configuration. For the quickest movement and the minimum energy loss, the unit thus used off-piste skis.

Then, the unit moved using a helicopter to a location which made possible further movement under cover along the steep snowy ravines of Tolsta Košuta and Košutnikov ending up at the very ridge.

In order to check accident measures during the exercise, a member of the group was supposedly carried away by an avalanche while traversing the slope and was later successfully rescued by the other members of the group using avalanche probes.

In spite of stormy and fairly cold conditions, the unit spent the night in the camp and replenished themselves with food and drink prepared on the spot.

While performing under such difficult conditions, including survival in nature, the police officers of the mountain unit practised certain skills and gained some new experience, but above all they recognised their own individual and group capabilities. The work and skills of the whole group were supervised by the chief of training - the assistant commander of the PPE GPU, which was important for the performance of such difficult tasks.

Assistant Commander of the PPE GPU