The GSG 9 (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

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 death 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 and the Israeli Sayeret Matkal.

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. After a four-day odyssey through the Middle East, 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 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 the most difficult scenarios.

Missions

The 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.

[edit] 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 Mercedes 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.

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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Central services

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

[edit] Documentation unit

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

[edit] Operations staff

This is the administration of GSG 9.

[edit] Training unit

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

[edit] 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 within 23 minutes and jumping a distance of at least 2.4 meters (from a standstill). 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.

[edit] Equipment

• Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun, in various versions/configurations.
• Heckler & Koch G36 assault rifle, G36K,and G36C
• G8 automatic rifle.
• AMP Technical Services DSR-1 sniper rifle (contrary to popular belief, this rifle is used by the snipers of GSG 9, and not the PSG1. The PSG1 is used primarily by German SEK team snipers)
• SG 550 assault rifle family
• Steyr AUG A3 assault rifle

• Glock 17 pistol
• USP Family of handguns
• Smith & Wesson and Ruger .357 Magnum Revolvers
• GSG9 Tactical Boot Designed specifically for GSG 9 by Adidas

[edit] In Popular Culture

The GSG 9 in one way or another has been referenced or heavily seen in certain media:

• In Germany, there is a television program based on the actions of GSG 9.
• In the Tom Clancy novel Sum of all Fears, several GSG 9 commandos made the capture of terrorist Petra Bock
• The GSG 9 is one of the famous Counter-Terrorist units portrayed in Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Source and in Counter-Strike: Condition Zero.
• In the Tom Clancy novel Rainbow Six German Rainbow operatives Jorg Walther and Dieter Weber were once GSG 9 operators.
• Some of the enemies in Konami's arcade game World Combat 2 (Wartran Troopers in Japan/Asia) are troopers wearing standard GSG 9 uniforms.
• "Patch", a character in the first person shooter Command & Conquer: Renegade, was a member of the GSG 9 before being recruited by GDI.
• Public Security Section 9 of the Manga and Anime series Ghost in the Shell is strongly based on the GSG 9
• The GSG 9 hosted the Special Forces "Olympics" on the Season2, Episode 16 of The Unit that aired February 20, 2007.
• You can choose a GSG 9 officer as your main character in the online game Soldier Front.
• Key Villain in the Preacher comic series, Herr Starr was a member of an anti-terrorist organisation clearly based on GSG 9, and was involved in a raid on an aircraft bearing a strong resemblance to Operation Fire Magic.

[edit] 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.