| Unit Name: | GSG 9 of the Federal Police |
| Native Name: | GSG 9 der Bundespolizei |
| Dates: | 26 September 1972 |
| Agency: | German Federal Police |
| Type: | Police tactical unit |
| Role: |
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| Ops Juris: |
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| Command Structure: | Bundespolizeidirektion 11 |
| Headquarters: | Sankt Augustin |
| Abbreviation: | GSG 9 |
| Sworn Type Label: | Operators |
| Sworn: | Approx. 400 |
| Current Commander: | Robert Hemmerling |
| Notable Commanders: | Ulrich Wegener |
| Programmes: | --> |
| Significant Operations: |
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German: GSG 9 der Bundespolizei, formerly de|'''Grenzschutzgruppe 9'''|Border Protection Group 9, is the police tactical unit of the German Federal Police (Bundespolizei). The unit is responsible for combatting terrorism and violent crime, including organized crime.[1] In addition to its headquarters location in Sankt Augustin-Hangelar near Bonn, it also has a base in Berlin. Since 1 August 2017, it has been subordinate to the Federal Police Directorate 11. The state police (Landespolizei) maintain their own regional tactical units known as the Spezialeinsatzkommando (SEK).
GSG 9 is made up of approximately 400 highly trained police officers, whose identities are classified.[2] The specialized unit operates not only within Germany on a federal level, but also safeguards German interests located worldwide, such as embassy property and personnel. Alongside the KSK and KSM military special forces of the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr), the GSG 9 can also be authorized to rescue citizens abroad in hostage situations.[3]
On 5 September 1972, Palestinian terrorists affiliated with Black September infiltrated the Summer Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany. They kidnapped 11 Israeli athletes, murdering two during the initial assault on the athletes' rooms in the Olympic Village. The unprecedented incident culminated when the regular Bavarian State Police, who were neither trained nor equipped for counter-terrorism operations and had underestimated the number of militants involved, attempted to rescue the athletes. The Police did not have a specialized tactical sniper team at that time. The German army had snipers, but the German Constitution did not permit the use of the German Armed Forces on German soil during peacetime.
The police rescue attempt failed, resulting in the deaths of one police officer, five of the eight terrorists, and all nine of the remaining hostages.
As a consequence of the overwhelmed Bavarian State Police's mismanagement of the 1972 Olympic tragedy, the West German government established the GSG 9 police tactical unit in September 1972. This unit was formed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel (Oberstleutnant) Ulrich Wegener of the Federal Border Protection (Bundesgrenzschutz), who proposed the creation of the tactical unit. The Federal Ministry of the Interior, under Federal Interior Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, to whom Wegener also served as adjutant, sanctioned and directed its formation. The goal was to ensure that future high-risk situations could be handled adequately and professionally.[4] [5]
Many German politicians opposed the formation of GSG 9, fearing it would rekindle memories of the Schutzstaffel (SS) and the National Socialists' misuse of the military as an instrument of domestic power. To address these concerns, the decision was made to form the unit from the Federal Border Protection (Bundesgrenzschutz), rather than the German Army. This approach differed from Israel's military special operations unit, Sayeret Matkal, which was the only known comparable unit with some experience specifically in counter-terrorism and hostage-rescue at the time. Since German federal law also expressly forbid the use of military forces against the civilian population or domestic threats, creating a police tactical unit composed of highly trained and skilled police personnel avoided this issue.
Two weeks after the Munich Olympic massacre, the GSG 9 unit was officially established on 26 September 1972. By April 1973, Wegener reported that the first two sub-units (Teileinheiten) were operationally ready. At the time, the GSG 9 was part of the Bundesgrenzschutz (BGS; Federal Border Protection), which was renamed Bundespolizei (Federal Police) in 2005.[6] The then-BGS had a paramilitary nature, using military ranks until 1976. BGS officers had combatant status, being de facto classified as combatants before 1965, with this status expressly regulated by law from 1965 to 1994. Additionally, conscripts could fulfill their military service obligation by serving in the BGS.[7]
The designation GSG 9 is derived from the structure of the Federal Border Protection (BGS, Bundesgrenzschutz), which, at the time of the unit's founding, consisted of four border protection commands with a total of eight border protection groups (GSG 1 to 7 and Sea). Since the GSG 9 was not integrated into any of the existing structures, it was designated Border Protection Group 9 (Grenzschutzgruppe 9, GSG 9).
Since its inception, many other countries have developed counter-terrorism units trained by and modeled on the GSG 9.[8] [9] For example, Spain's Unidad Especial de Intervención (UEI) (Civil Guard) and India's National Security Guard (NSG), which was trained and upgraded with the help of GSG 9 after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.[10] Additionally, many other countries have adopted various tactics, training methods, and operational strategies from GSG 9 to enhance their counter-terrorism capabilities.
After renaming the Bundesgrenzschutz to Bundespolizei in 2005, the abbreviation "GSG 9" was retained due to the unit's fame, reflecting the name change rather than any functional obsolescence. The contemporary official designation for the unit is GSG 9 der Bundespolizei (abbreviated GSG 9 BPOL or simply GSG 9).[11]
GSG 9 is deployed for counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, and high-risk law enforcement operations, including responses to kidnapping, extortion, and serious organized crime. An increasing number of arrests by GSG 9 are conducted in the area of cybercrime, which often requires quick action to preserve evidence. The number of deployments in cases of threats to public safety has also increased. The unit is very active in developing and testing methods and tactics for these missions. In total, the GSG 9 completes around 50-60 missions every year.
In contrast to the Spezialeinsatzkommandos (SEK) units in each of the regional states of Germany, which are trained and equipped for similar missions, GSG 9, which operates on a federal level, can only conduct operations within a state's jurisdiction with the state's consent. Operations on a federal level outside the Federal Republic of Germany require the foreign nation's consent, such as in a rescue operation of German citizens in a foreign country. Despite the paramilitary nature of the unit, GSG 9 officers are strictly limited to policing and tactical intervention operations and cannot engage in military conflict, as they are considered non-combatants under international law.
Until 2009, GSG 9 was regularly deployed in foreign countries as part of a security detail for German embassies in hazardous regions. Due to the workload from these deployments, the PSA BPOL was created.[12]
From 1972 to 2003, GSG 9 reportedly completed over 1,500 missions,[13] discharging their weapons on only five occasions. At the SWAT World Challenge in 2005, GSG 9 won all eight events, beating 17 other teams. They defended their championship the following year[14] and placed fifth in 2007.
Following the successful rescue operation of Lufthansa Flight 181, GSG 9 received numerous requests from various countries to help train their special operations units. One example is when GSG 9 was consulted, among other units, during the creation of the US Army's Delta Force.[15]
Germany offered to assist India in the wake of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. GSG 9 helped train and upgrade the National Security Guard, the primary Indian counter-terrorism unit.[16] Further assistance was provided to the Mumbai Police to help them establish a police tactical unit.[17]
The suspected involvement of retired GSG 9 operators in training Libyan security forces in 2008 led to harsh criticism in German media coverage.[18] Additionally, GSG 9's assistance in training Belarusian security forces from 2008 to 2011 has also been heavily criticized.[19] [20]
In 2015, GSG 9 commenced training the specialized "BFE+" operators of the Arrest units of the German Federal Police.
Its first mission, "Operation Feuerzauber" (Operation "Magic Fire"),[21] immediately established GSG 9's reputation as an elite unit. This mission took place in 1977 when Palestinian militants hijacked the Landshut, a Lufthansa plane traveling from Palma de Mallorca to Frankfurt. They demanded the release of imprisoned members of the German Red Army Faction in exchange for the passengers and crew. The aircraft was 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.
However, West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt negotiated an agreement with Somali President Siad Barre, allowing the West German tactical unit GSG 9 to take control of the crisis and storm the plane. Special envoy Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski and GSG 9 commander Ulrich Wegener traveled to Mogadishu with approximately 60 GSG 9 commandos, organized into two units.[22]
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) signaled they would be released. On the night between October 17 and 18, Somali ranger units created a distraction while members of GSG 9 stormed the plane.[23]
The operation lasted seven minutes and was successful, with all hostages rescued. Three hijackers were killed, and the fourth was critically wounded. Only one GSG 9 member and one flight attendant were slightly injured. The international counter-terrorism community applauded GSG 9 for their excellent and professional handling of the situation, as assaults on planes are considered to be one of the most difficult operations a hostage rescue force can attempt. To support the GSG 9 action, two accompanying British SAS advisers provided some newly developed flash bang grenades, but these were ultimately not used due to the fire risk inside the aircraft cabin.
The majority of GSG 9's missions are classified, with limited public information available. Since its inception, GSG 9 has participated in over 1,500 missions, yet reportedly fired shots on only five occasions (official count before the 2003 Iraq War). These occasions include Mogadishu in 1977, Bad Kleinen in 1993, Aachen in 1999, and two more missions where firearms were discharged to neutralize dogs of the persons being arrested.
The unit is part of the German Bundespolizei (Federal Police, formerly Bundesgrenzschutz) and thus has normal police powers, including the power of arrest. The Federal Police of Germany, and therefore GSG 9, is under the control of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The Bundespolizei also provides aerial transportation for GSG 9.
On August 1, 2017, GSG 9 was transferred to the Federal Police Directorate 11, which was established as the supreme command for all special operations units of the German Federal Police.[32]
After undergoing a reorganization process, GSG 9's operational section is divided into four sub-groups called Einsatzeinheiten (Operational Units).[33] All groups are capable of conducting regular operations, which may involve responding to terrorism, hostage-taking, serious crimes, defusing bombs, kidnapping, or extortion. The groups may also be used to secure locations, neutralize targets, perform sniping, and track fugitives.
Three of the four units are further specialized in the following fields:[34]
The operational units are supported by various support units which include:
The GSG 9 is based in Sankt Augustin-Hangelar near Bonn. Since 2018, a second base has been established for one of the four GSG 9 operational units in Berlin to reduce response times for missions in or near Berlin.[33] [38]
The respective commanders of GSG 9 are the only members who appear publicly with their identities. All commanders have previously served as active operators:
Members of the Bundespolizei and other German police services under the age of 34 with at least two years of service can apply for the GSG 9 selection process. However, members can serve in GSG 9 only until the age of 45.
Candidates for GSG 9 undergo a five-day assessment to be accepted into the training cycle. The tests include medical examinations, psychological assessments, marksmanship training with a pistol and submachine gun, oral interviews, and a physical test which includes:[40]
Approximately 10-15% of all candidates pass the selection phase and are accepted into the basic training section.
The subsequent 4.5-month training period includes both basic and specialized training.[41] During the basic training section, candidates undergo vigorous preparation for their tasks as operators in GSG 9. The training includes marksmanship, tactical courses, close-quarter combat, land navigation, climbing, rappelling, and medical training. The basic training concludes with a final week of rigorous testing, where candidates must demonstrate their skills under enormous stress.
On successful completion of all training stages, the candidate is awarded the GSG 9 badge and assigned to one of the operational units as a "Special Operations Officer".[41]
Upon successful completion of basic training, candidates undergo various additional qualifications tailored to their specializations for special operational situations. These may include parachuting, maritime operations, advanced marksmanship, advanced medical skills, surveillance (police investigation), operational diving, diving and skydiving in military freefall (training and further education take place at the Airborne and Air Transport School), or EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) techniques.
Individual GSG 9 officers have also participated in training courses conducted by the German Army's Special Operations Forces Command (KSK). These courses, held between 2007 and 2012, included specialized training in parachuting and demolition.
Further training often involves cooperation with other allied counter-terrorism units, such as Israel's Yamam, France’s Groupe d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale (GIGN) or National Gendarmerie Intervention Group, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Hostage Rescue Team from the United States.[42] [43]
GSG 9 won the 2012 Annual Warrior Competition, defeating the defending 2011 champion, EKO Cobra.[47]