GSG 9


GSG 9 der Bundespolizei is the elite tactical unit of the German Federal Police. GSG 9 counterparts at the state level are the Special Deployment Commandos of individual German Landespolizei.

Origins

On September 5, 1972, the Palestinian terrorist movement Black September infiltrated the Summer Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany, to kidnap 11 Israeli athletes, killing two in the Olympic Village in the initial assault on the athletes' rooms. The incident culminated when German police – who were not trained or equipped for counter-terrorism operations, and had underestimated the number of terrorists involved – attempted to rescue the athletes. Police did not have a specialized tactical sniper team at that time. The army had snipers, but the German Constitution did not allow the use of German Armed Forces on German soil during peacetime.
The police rescue failed, and the operation led to the deaths of one policeman, five of the eight kidnappers and all of the remaining nine hostages.

History

As a consequence of the mismanagement of the Olympic tragedy, the West German government 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. Many German politicians opposed its formation, fearing GSG 9 would rekindle memories of the Nazi Party's Schutzstaffel. The decision was taken to form the unit from police forces, as opposed to from the military, like the equivalent forces in other countries, on the ground that German federal law expressly forbids the use of the military forces against the civilian population.
Composing the special force from police personnel would avoid that. The unit was officially established on 26 September 1972 as a part of Germany's federal police agency, the Bundesgrenzschutz. The then-BGS did have something of a paramilitary nature, used military ranks, had combatant status, and could draw conscripts.
Many other countries have various anti-terrorist units based on GSG-9.

Name change

After renaming the Bundesgrenzschutz to Bundespolizei in 2005, the abbreviation "GSG 9" was kept because of the fame of the unit even though Border Protection Units became obsolete. The official way to refer to the unit is GSG9 der Bundespolizei.

Operations

GSG 9 is deployed in cases of hostage-taking, kidnapping, terrorism, extortion and high-risk arrests i.e. in the area of serious and organised crime. An increasing number of arrests by the GSG 9 are conducted in the area of cybercrime which often requires quick arrests in order to preserve evidence. The number of deployments in cases of threats to the public safety has also increased.
The unit is very active in developing and testing methods and tactics for these missions.
In contrast to the Special Deployment Commandos of the states which are trained and equipped for similar missions, GSG 9 can only conduct operations in the states' jurisdictions with the respective state's consent.
Operations on a federal level outside the Federal Republic of Germany require the foreign nation's consent, i.e. in a rescue operation of German citizens in a foreign country. Despite the unit's paramilitary nature, GSG 9 officers are strictly limited to policing operations and can't engage in military conflict since GSG 9 officers act as non-combatants by international law.
Until 2009 GSG 9 regularly depoloyed in foreign countries as a part of a security detail to German embassies in hazardous regions. Due to the workload of the deployments for that purpose, the PSA BPOL was created.
From 1972 to 2003, they reportedly completed over 1,500 missions, discharging their weapons on only five occasions. At the SWAT World Challenge in 2005, GSG 9 won eight out of eight events, beating 17 other teams. GSG 9 defended its championship the following year, and placed fifth in 2007.

Assistance and training of other units

Following the successful rescue operation of Lufthansa Flight 181, GSG9 received numerous requests from different nations for training their respective special operations units. For instance GSG9 was consulted among other units in the creation of the US Army's Delta Force.
Germany offered to render assistance to India in the wake of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. GSG 9 helped train and upgrade the National Security Guards, the primary Indian counter-terrorism unit. Further help was provided to the Mumbai Police so that they could raise a police tactical unit.
The suspected involvement of retired GSG9 operators in training Libyan security forces in 2008 led to harsh criticism in German media coverage. The assistance in training Belarusian security forces from 2008 - 2011 by GSG9 has also been heavily criticized.
In 2015, GSG9 commenced training the specialised BFE+ operators of the Arrest units of the German Federal Police.

Missions

Its first mission, "Operation Feuerzauber", immediately established the GSG 9's reputation as an elite unit. 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 in exchange for the passengers and crew who would be held as hostages. The aircraft was then flown to several destinations throughout the Middle East. During this time, the Lufthansa captain Jürgen Schumann was murdered 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 signalled they would be released. In the night between October 17 and October 18, Somali ranger units created a distraction, while members of the GSG 9 stormed the plane.
The operation lasted seven minutes and was successful with all of the hostages 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 the GSG 9 for the excellent and professional handling of the situation, as assaults on planes are considered to be one of the most difficult operations that a hostage rescue force is likely to attempt. To support the GSG 9 action, two accompanying British SAS advisers provided some newly developed flash bang grenades, but ultimately the flash bangs were never used due to the fire risk inside the aircraft cabin.

Publicly known missions

Note: The majority of this unit's missions are confidential and public information is not available. Since its inception, GSG 9 has participated in over 1,500 missions, yet reportedly fired shots only on five occasions. These occasions were Mogadishu in 1977, Bad Kleinen in 1993, Aachen in 1999 and two more missions where firearms were used to shoot dogs of the persons being arrested.

Organization

The unit forms part of the German Bundespolizei, and thus has normal police powers, including, for example, the power of arrest. The Federal Police of Germany is under the control of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The Bundespolizei also provides aerial transportation for the GSG 9.
On August 1, 2017 GSG9 was transferred to the Federal Police Directorate 11 which was established as a supreme command for all special operations units of the German Federal Police.

Personnel and stations

After undergoing a process of reorganising, the GSG9's operational section is divided into four sub-groups called Einsatzeinheiten. All groups are capable to conducting regular operations which may involve cases of hostage taking, defusing bombs, kidnapping, terrorism or extortion. The group may also be used to secure locations, neutralize targets, sniping and tracking fugitives.
Three of the four units are further specilised in the following fields:
; 1st Operational Unit: Sniping
; 2nd Operational Unit: Diving and maritime operations operations, for example the hijacking of ships or oil platforms.
; 3rd Operational Unit: Airborne operations, including parachuting and helicopter landings.
; 4th Operational Unit: This newly established sub-unit will be stationed in Berlin and will be tasked mainly with police operations in Berlin with an emphasis on urban combat in order to respond to attacks such as the November 2015 Paris attacks. In 2017, the GSG9 announced that a CT unit will be specialised in handling CBRN situations.
The operational units are supported by various support units which include:
; 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: Handles the administration of GSG 9.
; 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 explosive ordnance disposal experts and they are cross-trained in direct action operations. They are trained in the rendering safe and disposal of improvised explosive devices
; Training unit: This unit trains existing members, selects recruits, and trains new members.
The GSG 9 is based in Sankt Augustin-Hangelar near Bonn. Since 2018, a second station was established for one of the four GSG9 sub-groups in Berlin in order to reduce response times for missions in or near Berlin.

Commanders

The respective commanders of the GSG9 are the only members appearing publicly with their identity. All commanders have previously served as active operators.
Members of the Bundespolizei and other German police services below the age of 34 with at least two years of service can apply for the selection process of the GSG 9.

Selection

Candidates for the GSG9 undergo five days of assessment in order to be accepted into the training cycle. The tests include medical examinations, psychological assessments, marksmanship training with pistol and submachine gun, oral interviews and a physical test which includes:
Approximately 10-15% of all candidates pass the selection phase and are accepted in to the basic training section.

Basic training and specialisation

The subsequent 4.5-month training period includes the basic and specialized training.
During the basic training section candidates undergo vigorous training which prepares them for their tasks as operators in the GSG9. The training includes marksmanship training, tactical courses, close quarter combat, land navigation, climbing, rapelling and medical training. The basic training concludes with the final week of rigorous testing where candidates are forced to demonstrate their skills under enourmous stress.
Upon successful completion of the basis training, candidates undergo various training sections for their respective specialisation. These may include parachuting, maritime operations, advanced marksmanship, advanced medical skills or EOD techniques.
Successful completion of all training cycles allows GSG9 operators to wear the GSG9 badge on their uniforms and given the title police officer for special purposes in accordance with their rank.
Further training often involves co-operation with other allied counter-terrorism units like Israel's Yamam.
The identity of GSG 9 members is classified.

Equipment

Weapons

Special equipment

Gear

GSG 9 won the 2012 Annual Warrior Competition defeating the defending 2011 champion EKO Cobra.