What is the ISSB?
[ The short answer ]
The ISSB (Inter Services Selection Board, Bangla: আন্তঃবাহিনী নির্বাচন পর্ষদ) is the joint body that selects future commissioned officers for all three branches of the Bangladesh Armed Forces: Army, Navy, and Air Force. Every officer candidate must clear it, and it operates under the Ministry of Defence, headquartered at Dhaka Cantonment. Its official website (issb-bd.org) publishes call-up schedules and results for every batch.
Before ISSB existed, each branch ran its own separate selection process. The Army was first to formalize this, setting up its own Army Selection Board in 1974, shortly after independence. The Navy and Air Force had similar arrangements through their own headquarters. In 1976, these were merged into a single joint body, ISSB, so that every candidate, regardless of which service they were joining, would go through the same standardized evaluation.
Since then, ISSB's entire purpose has been to identify people suited to become officers: not by testing what they know, but by observing how they think, react, lead, and cooperate under real conditions. The board describes officer selection as a uniquely difficult task, since it isn't just about competence. The people chosen may one day be responsible for the lives of the soldiers, sailors, or airmen under their command.
Officer assessment of this kind traces back to methods developed for military selection in the early to mid 20th century, refined over decades, and now used in various forms by many countries' armed forces. Bangladesh's version reflects the same underlying philosophy: officers are chosen through direct observation across intelligence, personality, group behavior, and physical performance, not through a single written exam.