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GSG 9

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GSG 9
ActiveApril 17, 1973 - Present
Country Germany
BranchBundespolizei
TypeSpecial Operations
RoleDomestic counter-terrorism and law enforcement
Size500-1,000
Part ofDirectly under control of the Bundespolizei and the Ministry of the Interior
Garrison/HQSankt Augustin-Hangelar, Bonn
Commanders
Current
commander		Olaf Lindner
Notable
commanders		Ulrich Wegener, Friedrich Eichele

The GSG 9 der Bundespolizei (formerly the German abbreviation of Grenzschutzgruppe 9, Border Guards, Group 9) is the counter-terrorism unit of the German Federal Police, and is considered to be among the best of such units in the world. Many later counter-terrorism units of other nations were modelled after the GSG 9.

History and name

File:Gsg9insignia.jpg
Old GSG 9 Official Patch

In 1972, the Palestinian terrorist movement Black September used the Summer Olympic Games in Munich, Germany to kidnap eleven Israeli athletes, killing two in the Olympic Village in the initial assault on the athletes' rooms. The incident tragically culminated when German police, neither trained nor equipped for counter-terrorism operations, attempted to rescue the athletes; they failed miserably, and the operation led to the deaths of one policeman, five of the eight kidnappers and the remaining nine hostages (subsequently called the Munich massacre). As a consequence of the affair's mismanagement, German officials created the GSG 9 under the leadership of then Oberstleutnant Ulrich Wegener so that similar situations in the future could be responded to adequately and professionally. The unit was officially established on April 17, 1973 as a part of Germany's federal-level police agency, the Bundesgrenzschutz (federal border guard service; renamed in 2005 to Bundespolizei, federal police). The name GSG 9 stood for "Grenzschutzgruppe 9" (border guardsgroup 9) and was chosen simply because there existed eight regular border guard groups at the time, although after the 2005 renaming the expansion was dropped and the abbreviation "GSG 9" is now the single official way to refer to the unit. Its formation was based on the expertise of the British SAS (who also offered great support in the forming of GSG 9) and the Israeli Sayeret Matkal.

GSG 9 is deployed in cases of hostage taking, kidnapping, terrorism and extortion. The group may also be used to secure locations, neutralize targets, hunt fugitives and sometimes conduct sniper operations. Furthermore, the group is very active in developing and testing methods and tactics for these missions. Finally, the group may provide advice to the different Länder, ministries and international allies. The group assists the Bundespolizei and other federal and local agencies on request.

From 1972 to 2003 they reportedly completed over 1,500 missions [1] , with shots being fired on only 5 occasions.[who?] At the S.W.A.T. championship in 2005, GSG 9 won an impressive seven out of seven events, beating 17 other teams. In March 2006, in the same competition, GSG 9 defended its championship.[2]

Missions

Its first mission, which is still one of the most well-known and established the GSG 9's reputation as an excellent unit, was "Operation Feuerzauber" (Operation Fire Magic). It was carried out in 1977 when Palestinian terrorists hijacked the Landshut, a Lufthansa plane on the way from Palma de Mallorca to Frankfurt, demanding that imprisoned members of the German "Red Army Faction" terrorist group be freed. The aircraft was then flown to several destinations throughout the Middle East. During this time, the Lufthansa captain was executed by the leader of the hijackers in Aden. Following a four-day odyssey the hijackers directed the Boeing 737 to Mogadishu, Somalia, where they waited for the arrival of the Red Army Faction members after the German government had (falsely) signalled they would be released. In the night between October 17 and October 18, Somalian ranger units created a distraction, while members of the GSG 9 supported by two British SAS operatives stormed the plane. The operation lasted seven minutes and was successful: all hostages were rescued, three hijackers died, the fourth was seriously injured. Only one GSG 9 member and one flight attendant were injured. The international counter-terrorism community applauded GSG 9 for the excellent and professional handling of the situation, especially because assaults on planes are considered one of the most difficult scenarios a hostage rescue force could face.

Publicly known missions

  • October 17 1977/October 18 1977: Lufthansa Flight 181 was hijacked by four Arab terrorists demanding the release of Red Army Faction members. GSG 9 stormed the aircraft on the ground in Mogadishu, Somalia and freed all 86 hostages.
  • 1982: Arrest of RAF terrorists Mohnhaupt and Schulz
  • June 27 1993: Arrest of RAF terrorists Birgit Hogefeld and Wolfgang Grams in Bad Kleinen. Some people believe that Wolfgang Grams was executed in revenge for the death of GSG 9 operative Michael Newrzella during the mission. Grams had shot and killed Newrzella when Newrzella tried to tackle him. However, the official investigation determined that Grams committed suicide.
  • 1993: Ending of the hijacking of a KLM flight from Tunis to Amsterdam, redirected to Düsseldorf, without firing a single shot.
  • 1994: End of a hostage situation in the Kassel Penitentiary
  • 1994: Involved in the search for the kidnappers Albert and Polak
  • 1998: Arrest of a man trying to extort money from the German railway company Deutsche Bahn
  • 1999: Arrest of Metin Kaplan in Cologne
  • 1999: Arrest of two suspected members of the Rote Zellen (Red Cells) in Berlin
  • 1999: Involved in ending the hostage situation in the central bank in Aachen
  • 2000: Advised the Philippines in relation to a hostage situation
  • 2001: Arrested two spies in Heidelberg
  • 2001: Assisted in the liberation of four German tourists in Egypt
  • 2001: Arrested a number of terrorists related to the September 11, 2001 attacks
  • 2002: Arrested a number of terrorists related to the September 11, 2001 attacks
  • 2003: Protection of the four members of the German Technisches Hilfswerk (THW) (the governmental disaster relief organization of Germany) in Baghdad, Iraq. The THW's mission was to repair the water distribution network.
  • 2004: GSG 9 is responsible for protecting German embassy property and personnel, including the embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. On April 7 2004 two members were attacked and killed near Fallujah while in a convoy travelling from Amman (Jordan) to Baghdad. The men aged 25 and 38 were travelling in a car at the rear of the convoy, and therefore received most of the enemy fire after passing the ambush. The men were shot after their armoured Mitsubishi Pajero/Shogun was hit and stopped by RPGs. In a later statement, the attackers apologized for mistaking the German convoy for an American convoy. One of the bodies is still missing.
  • 2007: Arrest of three terrorists with links to al Qaeda, suspected of preparing a massive bomb attack on US facilities in Germany. The terrorists had amassed 730 kg (1,500 pounds) of hydrogen peroxide, enabling them to build bombs with more explosive power than those used in the Madrid and London attacks. Few days before the arrest, "police experts secretly swapped the 35-percent solution of hydrogen peroxide contained in 12 barrels for a diluted liquid that only contained 3 percent of the chemical." (Spiegel Online)

Note: The majority of this unit's missions are confidential, and public information is not available. Since the founding of the GSG 9 the group has participated in over 1500 missions, yet reportedly fired shots only on 5 occasions (official count, prior to the 2003 Iraq War). These occasions were Mogadishu in 1977, Bad Kleinen in 1993, Aachen in 1999, and two more missions where firearms were used to shoot the dogs of the persons being arrested.

Organization

The unit forms part of the German Bundespolizei (Federal Police, formerly Bundesgrenzschutz), and thus has normal police powers, including, for example, the power of arrest. The Federal Police of Germany (and thus the GSG 9) is under the control of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The Bundespolizei also provides aerial transportation for the GSG 9. In contrast, regular police forces are subordinate to the various States or Länder, as are their Spezialeinsatzkommando (SEK) SWAT teams, while the military is responsible for the Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) (Special Forces command) and the Kampfschwimmer German Navy SEALs.

The GSG 9 is based in Sankt Augustin-Hangelar near Bonn and consists of three main sub-groups, plus a number of support groups as shown below.

Regular operations

The first sub-group of the GSG 9 is used for regular land-based counter-terrorism actions. This may involve cases of hostage taking, kidnapping, terrorism or extortion. The group may also be used to secure locations, neutralize targets, sniping and tracking fugitives. The group has approximately 100 members.

Maritime operations

The second sub-group of the GSG 9 is used for operations at sea, for example the hijacking of ships or oil platforms. The group has approximately 100 members.

Airborne operations

The third sub-group of the GSG 9 is used for airborne operations, including parachuting and helicopter landings. The group has approximately 50 members.

Technical unit

This unit supports other units in gaining entry to target areas and is responsible for the procurement, testing and issuance of non-weapon equipment. The members of the technical unit are also EOD experts. They are trained in the rendering safe and disposal of IEDs.

Central services

This service group maintains the GSG 9 armoury and is involved in testing, repairing and purchasing weapons, ammunition, and explosives.

Documentation unit

This unit handles communications, including the testing, repairing and purchasing of communications and surveillance equipment.

Operations staff

This is the administration of GSG 9.

Training unit

This unit trains existing members, and selects, recruits and trains new members.

Training

Members of the Bundespolizei and other German police services with 2 years of service can join the GSG 9. The 22-week training period includes 13 weeks of basic training and 9 weeks of advanced training. Besides medical tests there are many physical and psychological requirements, for example running 5000 meters in 23 minutes and jumping a distance of at least 2.4 meters. The identity of GSG 9 members is classified as top secret. Further training often involves co-operation with other allied counter-terrorism units.

Only one in five pass the training course.

Equipment


Miscellaneous

The German GSG 9 team won every event at the 2005 SWAT World Challenge in Las Vegas, beating 17 other teams. In 2006 they again gained the victory with first place in four of the eight different competitions of World SWAT Challenge. However, in 2007 they only made over-all fifth place.

Initially when GSG 9 was formed, many German politicians opposed its formation fearing this would rekindle memories of the SS. The decision was taken to form the unit from police forces as opposed to the military as is the model in other countries on the grounds that German Federal law expressly forbids the use of the military forces against the civilian population, whereas if the special forces were composed of police personnel, this is within the law.

See also

References

  1. ^ Federal Police, Duties and Organisation, page 17
  2. ^ History of The Original SWAT WORLD Challenge "Team GSG-9, the Federal Border Police of Germany, swept the competition and won all seven events."
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