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Kommando Spezialkräfte
 
 
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The Kommando Spezialkräfte (Special Forces Command, KSK) is part of Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
's Special Forces
Special forces

Special Forces , also known as, Special Operation Forces is a generic term for highly-trained military teams/units that conduct specialized Military operation such as reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and counter-terrorism actions....
. Organized under the Special Operations Division (Div. Spezielle Operationen, DSO), it is closely modeled on the British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 Special Air Service
Special Air Service

The Special Air Service is a special forces regiment within the British Army which has served as a model for the special forces of other countries....
 (SAS).

r to KSK’s formation in 1996, Germany, and before it West Germany, placed little emphasis on special operations beyond the counter-terrorist police unit GSG 9
GSG 9

The GSG 9 der Bundespolizei is the elite counter-terrorism and special operations unit of the German Federal Police and is considered to be among the best of its kind in the world....
.






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The Kommando Spezialkräfte (Special Forces Command, KSK) is part of Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
's Special Forces
Special forces

Special Forces , also known as, Special Operation Forces is a generic term for highly-trained military teams/units that conduct specialized Military operation such as reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and counter-terrorism actions....
. Organized under the Special Operations Division (Div. Spezielle Operationen, DSO), it is closely modeled on the British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 Special Air Service
Special Air Service

The Special Air Service is a special forces regiment within the British Army which has served as a model for the special forces of other countries....
 (SAS).

History

Prior to KSK’s formation in 1996, Germany, and before it West Germany, placed little emphasis on special operations beyond the counter-terrorist police unit GSG 9
GSG 9

The GSG 9 der Bundespolizei is the elite counter-terrorism and special operations unit of the German Federal Police and is considered to be among the best of its kind in the world....
. At the time, the airborne brigade commandos and Fernspäher companies were the only army units comparable to Special Forces (the navy already had its Kampfschwimmer company for years). All the early specialised army units except for one Fernspähkompanie have been disbanded or merged into the KSK since its activation on April 1, 1997.

Like all German military units, KSK deployment requires parliamentary
Bundestag

The 'Bundestag' is the parliament of Germany. It was established with Germany's constitution of 1949 and is the successor of the earlier Reichstag ....
 authorization, providing evidence of operations in Kosovo
Kosovo

Kosovo is a disputed region in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo . Serbia does not recognise the secession of Kosovo and considers it a United Nations-governed entity within its sovereign territory, the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija that was re-created by Slobodan M...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country on the Balkans peninsula of South Eastern Europe with an area of 51,129 square kilometres . Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the south, Bosnia and Herzegovina is Landlocked#Nearly landlocked, except for 26 kilometres of the Adriatic Sea coas...
 and Afghanistan
Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia....
. Specific operational details, such as success or casualty rates, are top secret and withheld even from members of parliament. This practice drew heavy criticism, resulting in plans to increase transparency and accountability by relaying mission details to selected members of the Bundestag.

Structure


The fighting units are divided into four commando
Commando

In military science, the term commando denotes an individual soldier, a military unit, and a raid . Contemporarily, commando identifies ?lite light infantry and special forces units specialised in parachuting, rappelling, and amphibious warfare to conduct and effect attacks....
 companies of about 100 men each and the special commando company with veteran members, taking supporting tasks. Each of the four commando companies has five specialized platoons:
  • 1st platoon: land insertions
  • 2nd platoon: airborne operations
  • 3rd platoon: amphibious operations
  • 4th platoon: operations in special geographic or meteorological surroundings (e.g. mountains or polar regions)
  • 5th platoon: reconnaissance, sniper
    Sniper

    A sniper is usually a highly trained marksman that shoots targets from Concealment positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel....
     and counter-sniper
    Counter-sniper tactics

    Counter-sniper tactics involves tactics used by a sniper against another sniper.The occurrence of sniper warfare has led to the evolution of many counter-sniper tactics in modern Military tactic....
     operations
  • Command Platoon


There are four commando squads in every platoon. Each of these groups consists of about four equally skilled soldiers. One of each group is specially trained as a weapons expert, medic
Medic

Medic is a general term for a person involved in medicine, especially emergency or first-response medicine, such as an emergency medical technician, paramedic, or a military member trained in battlefield medicine....
, combat engineer or communications expert respectively. Additionally a group can contain other specialists, e.g. heavy weapons or language experts.

See also

  • Spezialeinsatzkommando
    Spezialeinsatzkommando

    Spezialeinsatzkommandos are the List_of_Special_Response_Units units of the Germany state police forces. German SEKs are full-time units whose members do not perform any other duties....
  • Brandenburgers
    Brandenburgers

    The Brandenburgers were members of the Brandenburg Germany commando unit during World War II.Units of Brandenburgers operated in almost all fronts - the invasions of Poland, Denmark and Norway, in the Battle of France, in Operation Barbarossa, in Finland, Greece and the invasion of Crete, Romania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia....
     (disputed heritage)


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