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Kommando Spezialkrafte - KSK

The special forces of the army are considered the best trained soldiers of the army. The Special Forces Command ( KSK Kommando Spezialkrafte) is the Special Forces Association of the German Army. Special forces have unique skills within the Bundeswehr. There are special tasks of strategic interest in the range of operations of German armed forces, which often cannot be accomplished by conventional units. These are offensive operations such as the liberation of German nationals in hostages in crisis or war zones and the fixing of war criminals or terrorists. Training support in host countries and special intelligence, i.e. the acquisition of key information of strategic importance, are also among the special skills of the commandos.

The soldiers of the KSK Special Forces Command are specially selected and trained for such and similar operations. The KSK is the core of the Bundeswehr's special forces networkSpecial Forces Commandthus an important instrument of national risk and crisis management. The capabilities of the KSK Special Forces Command and the options for action of the Federal Republic of Germany in the entire range of tasks of the armed forces. The commandos perform all operational tasks at any time worldwide and under all climatic conditions.

Germany formed a special-forces group, the Kommando Spezialkrafte KSK, to perform a range of military missions in enemy rear areas or in trouble spots abroad. Unit missions may include operating against targets such as lines of communication or enemy headquarters. In 1994, the German government requested assistance from Belgian paracommandos to evacuate 12 German citizens from Rwanda. Germany lacked a force capable of conducting rapid operations outside of German borders.243 This event triggered the German government to consider development of an out of area deployable special operations capability to augment the Federal Police’s GSG-9 unit near Bonn.

On September 20, 1996, the newly formed Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) replaced the 25 Luftlande “Swarzwald” Brigade-25 at Graf-Zeppelin-Kaserne in the village of Calw. The political decision to locate the unit 25 kilometers away from Panzer Kaserne created positive conditions for unit partnership with U.S. SOF. From its establishment in Calw, the KSK formed close bonds with the three Special Forces companies in Boeblingen, and shared some resources and conducted combined training.

Regularly scheduled partnership training has enabled the KSK and U.S. SOF to share valuable experience gained in global contingency operations over the past decade.245 Training typically occurs at the Panzer Kaserne urban combat training center or the KSK’s Ausbildungs-und Versuchszentrum (AVZ) training center. Partnership with U.S. SOF and priority funding and manning allowed the unit to establish itself as one of the foremost special operations units in the world. In 15 years, the unit has grown to nearly 1,300 soldiers with a full range of SOF capabilities.

German law expects soldiers to actively commit to defending the country's constitutional values, making the presence of right-wing extremists especially problematic. Extremism allegations go as far back as 2017, when KSK members at a commander's farewell party allegedly threw pig heads, played right-wing rock music and performed the Nazi salute. A report by Germany's Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) in January 2020 revealed that 500 soldiers in the German military were being investigated for right-wing extremism. MAD noted that 20 of the suspected right-wing extremism cases currently being processed were within the KSK. In relation to the number of personnel, this was five times the proportion in the rest of the Bundeswehr. In May 2020, police seized explosives and weapons at the home of a KSK soldier. German Defense Minister Kramp-Karrenbauer had previously described the disappearance of 48,000 rounds of ammunition and 62 kilograms of explosives as "disturbing" and "alarming."

Kramp-Karrenbauer said 01 July 2020 the Special Forces Command (KSK) will not be immediately disbanded over far-right extremist links. Instead, she urged soldiers to change the elite unit from the inside out. In the wake of numerous revelations of far-right activity among the KSK's ranks, a task force was asked to urgently investigate. Announcing the results alongside Bundeswehr Chief of Defense Eberhard Zorn, Kramp-Karrenbauer said the unit would be given time to put its own house in order. "The analysis concludes that the KSK cannot persist in its current form. That it must be changed from the inside out and that it must be better reintegrated into the Bundeswehr.... We will give the KSK time to press the reset button".

Kramp-Karrenbauer had already announced structural reforms of the KSK unit, which include the dissolution of one of its four combat companies. She warned that, should the KSK fail to make sufficient progress by the end of October, it would be disbanded as a whole. "If we let things go on then the danger is indeed great that we will have a real structural problem for the future," she said.

Kramp-Karrenbauer said "The overwhelming majority of you have stood and stand and are convinced of the values ??of our constitution and defend them. Nevertheless, special forces piled up in the command (KSKSpecial Forces Command) of the Bundeswehr since April 2017 suspected cases of right-wing extremism and lack of constitutional loyalty. Special forces in particular need basic trust not only for their political and military leadership, but also for Parliament as their client and society as a whole. This fundamental trust is confirmed by the extreme right suspected cases in KSK Special Forces Command endangered....

"The KSK Special Forces Command performed excellently in all operations since 1998. However, the analysis of current events and right-wing extremist cases makes it clear that the Special Forces Command had at least become independent over the past few years, derived from an unhealthy understanding of the elite of individual managers. This created areas in theKSKSpecial Forces Command, in which " toxic leadership", extremist tendencies and a lax use of material and ammunition developed, which are in no way in line with the applicable regulations of the Bundeswehr.

"The service supervision at all levels above the company has not recognized or underestimated a questionable development in these segments over a longer period of time. It follows that that KSK cannot remain in its current state. It has to be changed from the inside and better integrated into the Bundeswehr again. Foreclosure and a partially misguided self-image must be broken up. Our focus is particularly on those in theKSKSpecial Forces Commandwho have contributed and continue to help break the wall of silence and out of the KSKSpecial Forces Command to promote cleaning and renewal from the inside out.

"The important thing now is to support the overwhelming majority of soldiers in the KSK Special Forces Commandwho stand firmly on the ground of the Basic Law and perform excellently, remove right-wing extremists and right-wing extremist ideas quickly and with all consequence from the troops and hard to prevent the making possible or favoring of right-wing extremism. At the same time, it is necessary to maintain the Bundeswehr's ability to carry out special operations and to ensure that it is ready for action."