German commando company is disbanded due to far-right culture
Germany’s defence minister has disbanded a company of special forces, saying a culture of rightwing extremism had been allowed to develop behind a “wall of secrecy”.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told reporters on Wednesday that “toxic leadership” in the company was found to have fostered an extreme rightwing attitude among some members of the Kommando Spezialkraefte, or KSK, unit.
Around 70 soldiers will be distributed among the KSK’s other three combat companies, while “those who made clear they are part of the problem and not part of the solution must leave the KSK”, she said.
The entire organisation’s training and deployments are being scaled back as the investigation into extremism continues, and reforms are implemented.
It comes at a time of broader concerns that Germany has not done enough to tackle rightwing extremism within its Bundeswehr military in general.
Kramp-Karrenbauer emphasised, however, that she felt reform was the right course rather than the dissolution of the entire KSK. “The vast majority of the men and women in the KSK and in the Bundeswehr as a whole are loyal to our constitution, with no ifs or buts,” she said.
The KSK was formed as an army unit in 1996 with a focus on anti-terrorism operations and hostage rescues from hostile areas. It has served in Afghanistan and the Balkans and its operations are kept secret.
Military investigators have been looking into the unit since a group of public German broadcasters reported in 2017 that at a going-away party, members displayed the Hitler salute, listened to rightwing extremist music and participated in a game that involved tossing a pig’s head. In January, the military reported 20 soldiers were under suspicion of being rightwing extremists.
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Kramp-Karrenbauer established an independent commission in May to investigate the KSK and propose reforms after a cache of weapons, explosives and munitions were found at one of the suspected extremist’s homes in Saxony, which she said revealed a “new dimension” to the problem.
She said the investigation has revealed “grave deficiencies” in the unit’s record keeping and that there were many missing items, including ammunition and explosives. It was not clear whether the munitions were used, left behind after deployments or pilfered, she said.