The German Special Operations Command (KSK) is reviewing its training program in light of a possible military conflict with Moscow. BILD reports, according to UNN.
Details
"We are very specifically orienting ourselves toward an adversary represented by Russia," KSK commander Andreas Kühne said in an interview with BILD.
According to him, operations used to be planned for approximately three days, but now the soldiers are preparing to remain in the field for much longer. In addition, the special forces are once again training to face an adversary equipped with tanks, artillery, drones, and electronic warfare capabilities. They are also practicing operations in extreme cold: the KSK is preparing for conditions typical of the eastern flank.
The unit is based at the Zeppelin Barracks in Calw, near Stuttgart. Approximately 1,500 personnel serve in the KSK. However, only one-third of them are special forces operators; the rest are administrative staff. The selection process is extremely rigorous: only about 15% of candidates pass it.
Just a few years ago, the future of the most elite unit hung by a thread. Incidents involving far-right extremists, a Nazi salute and pig heads at a farewell party, missing ammunition, and the discovery of a weapons and explosives cache at a KSK soldier's home shook the unit. In 2020, one of the special forces unit's companies was disbanded.
We remind you
The President of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Martin Jäger, considers the threat of an armed confrontation between Germany and Russia to be real.