Special Reconnaissance – missions to collect specific, well-defined, and time-sensitive information of strategic or operational significance. Example: reconnaissance of port facilities, surf zones and/or inland locations.
Kampfschwimmer are Special Operations Forces (SOF) of the German navy. Their mission is to conduct special operations missions in the maritime environment in support of German armed forces operations. (Maritime) special operations fall into three categories: Special Reconnaisance, Direct Action, and Support Operations. To master these mission categories, Kampschwimmer receive triphibian training. In other, Read More
FORUMS – MAGAZINEs – BLOGS K-ISOM Kommando – International Special Operations Magazine (K-ISOM). (German language) SPARTANAT Gear, Reviews, SEALS & SOF (German language) SOFREP International special operation Magazin SOFREP (english language). SHOPS BOMBFROG The Shop for SOF “Gear” (themed clothing and accessories) . Dollars and Pound Sterling accepted. To browse the merchandise in English, Read More
Kampfschwimmer training lasts three years. Next to pilot training it is one of the longest, most expensive and physically most demanding training programs of the German armed forces. Aside from the overall physical and psychological burdens of the training, the element of water constitutes the trainees greatest challenge. This is what differentiates Kampfschwimmer training, Read More
On 2 August 1990 some 100,000 Iraqi soldiers crossed into Kuwait. Within a few hours of this invasion the UN Security Council passed Resolution 660, condemning the invasion and demanding the withdrawal of the Iraqi forces. On 16 January 1991, one day after the ultimatum associated with UN Resolution 678 expired, the anti-Saddam coalition, Read More
The Kampfschwimmer Company and the beachmaster company were both assigned to and integrated into the newly established Maritime Battalion (Seebataillon) on 16 December 1988. (The original Seebataillon had been disbanded in the 1960s.) On 1 April 1989 the Company celebrated its 25th anniversary. Six months before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the, Read More
The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) was founded on 23 May 1949 out of what had been the three western zones of occupation. The new federal government soon came under increasing pressure to rearm. The catalyst was a conflict taking place 15,000 kilometers southeast of German territory: the Korean War. The Western powers, Read More
With the transition of the Armed Diver Group (Waffentauchergruppe) into the new organizational framework of the Specialized Operational Forces of the Navy (Spezialisierte EinsatzKräfte der Marine) or SEK-M in July 2003, the German navy formed a unique battalion. The SEK-M supports the operational freedom of the German maritime forces in the face of developing, Read More
