Police Special Operation Department
Military unit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Police Special Operations Department (Turkish: Polis Özel Harekât Dairesi) or Police Special Action[1] (Turkish: Polis Özel Harekât), abbreviated as PÖH, is a police tactical unit of the General Directorate of Security in Turkey.
| Polis Özel Harekât Dairesi | |
|---|---|
| |
| Active | 1983–present |
| Country |  Turkey |
| Branch | General Directorate of Security |
| Type | Police tactical unit |
| Size | 22,000 |
| Part of | Respective municipality-level police departments |
| Garrison/HQ | Ankara, Turkey |
| Nicknames | PÖH, Üç Harfliler[citation needed] |
| Mascot | Eagle |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Selami Türker |
| Notable commanders | Behçet Oktay |
History
The PÖH was founded in 1983[2] as "Special Operations Office" (Turkish: Özel Harekat Şube Müdürlüğü), under the command of Department of Public Security.
In larger cities like Ankara, Istanbul, and İzmir, "Special Operations Group Authorities "(Turkish: Özel Harekat Grup Amirlikleri) were organized in the same year.
As a result of changing conditions, in 1987, the office was transferred to the Anti-Terrorism and Operations Department under the name "Special Operations Branch" (Turkish: Özel Harekat Şubesi).
In 1993, the Special Operations Branch was promoted to a department and gained its current structuring.[3]
İbrahim Şahin was head of the Department until being forced to resign in 1996 over the Susurluk scandal. Ayhan Çarkın was a notable member of the department in the 1990s.
Organisation
The force consists of 22,000 personnel, more than a thousand of whom are women.[4]
It is also deployed as part of the Turkish occupation of northern Syria.[5]
Training
To qualify for PÖH, an applicant must:
- Run the 2500m designated area with a backpack weighing 10 kg, under 15 minutes
- Have 50% minimum accuracy in pistol and rifle shooting
- Swim 150 m without stopping
- Be between ages 18 and 32
- Have graduated from police high school or university
In addition, a training simulation called TAKSİS is conducted by TÜBİTAK.[6]
After 6 months of training, the applicant will receive a certificate officially identifying himself as an operator of PÖH.[7]
Tactics
Police Special Operation Department is one of a handful of security forces in the world which employs active front line female squad members in combat operations.[8]
