The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högl, sees the reform of the Bundeswehr Special Forces Command (KSK), which began a good two years ago after cases of extremism, as a success. The SPD politician told the German Press Agency in Berlin that she would welcome it if the focus was now on the future and if answers were given to the changed security situation. The past few months have always been spent first clarifying, working through and drawing conclusions.
“The reform package has worked and it has also been implemented well and consistently. Some points, such as political education, are permanent tasks. You have to keep an eye on them all the time,” said Högl. “The processing at the KSK provides sufficient reason to now end the phase of permanent doubt, to look ahead and to trust him in terms of loyalty to the constitution, performance and commitment.”
After the Russian attack on Ukraine and against the background of increased NATO deterrence along the eastern flank, the Commissioner for the Armed Forces called for the future tasks of the command to be defined politically. “The special forces should have a role in national and alliance defense. This applies to all special forces, those of the Air Force, the Navy, as well as the KSK,” said Högl. And: “If the KSK is given new tasks, for example in national and alliance defense, if it is under greater demand, then it must be better staffed.”
A good two years ago, the future of the elite unit seemed to be hanging in the balance after right-wing incidents, the discovery of a soldier’s weapon cache and irregularities in the handling of ammunition. The 2nd company of the command based in Calw (Baden-Württemberg) was dissolved in July 2020. In addition, the association was prescribed a program consisting of 60 individual measures, which has now practically been completed.
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces Special Forces Command (KSK) of the Bundeswehr
