Not for the meek: Elite police unit seeks assault team leaders

It's that time of year again when the finest of Asia's finest are being called to duty by the Hong Kong Police's elite strike force, the Special Duties Unit.

This year it will focus on recruiting inspectors to lead assault teams. His or her responsibilities sound heavy, if the latest recruitment advert in the police's internal newspaper, Offbeat, is anything to go by.

'As a newly trained SDU assault group leader, an inspector will be expected to lead from the front, be prepared to do all that is asked of his men and, above all, possess the mental determination to succeed in the face of adversity,' the advertisement says.

The group leader will lead special operators skilled in reconnaissance, assault diving, tactical climbing, close-quarter combat and combat medicine.

This is, clearly, no ordinary job. The commander, according to the ad, 'must possess the will to lead, intelligence, good all-around practical abilities and a cool temperament under extreme pressure'. SDU selection, it says, is designed 'to identify officers with these qualities and more. Indeed it must ... One day, the unthinkable might just happen ... and when it does, SDU must be ready'.

Scary stuff!