German KSK (Special Forces) Disbanded Elite Military Unit (Marine Reacts) 

Danish Frogs - ru-vid.com/group/PLeU0ya-0QayQkYtpqCi5__OCkeU3zqfvo

when you're german, but read the english subtitles anyways

The KSK has not - REPEAT: HAS NOT - been disbanded. Only the second company has been disbanded due to right wing extremist activities/allegiations. The KSK as a force remains active.

"put some water on it. I'm sure that's a joke." I see you are not familiar with Germans.

Me, a german seeing this title: "interesting"

"im sure thats a joke", germans don't make jokes

They aren't disbanded, this is false. "Only" 1 out of 3 companies. Anything else would be stupid because requirements are high, recruiting and training are difficult and expensive as well as the gear. This unit is too expensive to dissolve. They will probably get reorganized.

German Captain Price can't hurt you, he's not real German Captain Price : 16:34

I was on a task force years ago and I got to observe from afar how the KSK operates. These guys were more than impressive. They received a mission, planned it meticulously, trained to the mission, and executed it flawlessly all within one week. The best way to describe them is that they just simply take care of business.

FYI: The KSK has NOT been disbanded. The second company in the SF Regiment has been split up among other units, but the bulk is still very much operational!

My neighbor told me about his time in the Bundeswehr in the late 90s/early 2000s. He talked about one operation where him and his men were pinned down in a village somewhere in Afghanistan for multiple hours. They called for backup and it came in form of a helicopter carrying a KSK unit. They landed, started advancing toward the enemy while firing and within 2 minutes there were no more enemies.

That commander's mustache unlocks 15% more XP on new recruits.

Still love it that our highest Generals last name is Zorn (German word for wrath). Its sounds like a 80s Villain name xD

wurde dieser kommentarbereich schon eingenommen?

The lack of yelling and harsh "encouragement" is very deliberate. Soldiers at this level must be able to motivate and push themselves all on their own, they can't rely on external motivation and would be useless if they did.

He don't yells at him. He just look at him" Yeah because the officer gave an order and a order is a order in German: Befehl ist Befehl.

Egal welches Video man guckt sobald es um Deutsche geht ist der Kommentarbereich unser 😊😂😂

Is nobody going to mention that the commander of the KSK looks and acts like a German captain Price?

I really like that at the end, the General talks to the soldier who passed the test with the informal "Du", which you only use when you know a person better or when the person is not adult yet. Normally, you talk to another person as "Sie". Both is translated as "you" in English but in German there´s a big difference. In the videos situation it really shows that the unit sees itself as a kind of familiy, when even the General talks to the new guy like this. And yes, I wanna see more about the German military.

It is kinda funny how this training is the living hell and yet everybody is so friendly.

German at the border control. "Occupation?" "No, just travelling." ;)

"Ausfälle" is better translated into "Drop-outs" then "casualties"

The NCO that was in charge of my group in the German military was also an older guy who had been to Afghanistan multiple times before he took on our training. He was a quiet guy and never screamed at us. When he told us to do something a certain way he also explained why it is done this way and it always made sense, so we knew that he was a guy who actually knows what hes doing from experience. He told us once that a capable and professional leader does not need to scream and shout at his subordinates.

Thats another type of pressure if you aren't yelled at Because they won't yell at you, just observe and take notes You don't know what's going on in their head And you can't take their yelling as motivation

german officers that just stare at you are way more scary than screaming drill sergeants.

"The hardest that can be allowed in a democracy" is a clumsy way of describing that the training is bordering on violating human rights, i guess. Just adding that I'm simply interpreting the statement. These soldiers join the unit voluntarily and get thoroughly briefed about what's ahead of them.

!Hardest that democracy allows" means the limits of the laws. In other words, no human rights violations or such.

lmao the guy doing voice over usually narrates children audiobooks like Grimm brothers fairytales.

I know 2 guys who served in the KSK. Both of them are intelligent, smart and extremely friendly young men. Both of them are far away from any extremistic or racist attitude.

Only one "company" of about 50 operators got disbanded. The rest of the KSK (around 400 operators and 600 support personnel) will remain intact. They were just removed from any foreign activity/missions for the duration of the investigation into the unit and organisational reform.

When I was stationed in Germany, I had an opportunity to have insight into how the KSK operated in real world ops. THEY WERE INCREDIBLY IMPRESSIVE. They definitely had their shit in one sock.

"If you want to see more German army"...I'm from Poland, we've seen enough :P

I'm from Germany...and much respect goes out to my fellow soldiers. I don't think I would survive.

As a German viewer and active member of the service, I suppose I am qualified to write on the question whether the Bundeswehr has an age limit or not. According to the fact that there are 2631 comments already, I am confident somebody more competent than I has already answered this, but I will do so regardless. I cannot speak on the specific case of SF though, but since they're bound by the same laws as other German soldiers, the age limit should be the same. Generally speaking, there is the age limit of around 62-65 years. According to my own personal experience, there is a reasonable amount of 40+ y.o. old servicemen and women around, and not just old high-ranking officers upwards of OF-4, but also sergeant ranks (mostly upwards of OR-7 (SFC), but it can also be as low as OR-4). *Warning: Only read this if you're interested in the German Military, for anyone else this WILL be pretty boring to read* To go further into detail, this is how it works with the military service in Germany. It's voluntary service over here, so the lads you've seen in the video are all in there because they chose to, and not because they got roped into something by the government. Just like in 'merica. That is - unless the video was made before 2010, as before that, there still was mandatory service. So: There are different...I guess kinds of military services, or statuses, in Germany, for lack of a better translation (which will continue to pose a problem as we go, so bear with me here): We have "FWDL" (= Freiwillig Wehrdienstleistender, or "Voluntary Serviceman", probably inaccurate translation but best I can can come up with right now), which is the shortest-lived kind of service. That one goes anywhere from a minimum of 6 months (basic in Germany goes 3 months, so it's 3 months of "real" service) up to 23 months, depending on the individual's choice. They get a few benefits compared to other kinds of soldiers, but far less pay. It is a little like bit an internship, and you are free to cancel it whenever you want. As another downside besides the pay, however, you will be denied specialized training required for the unit you are then assigned to, due to the fact that your service is too short-lived, and therefore you effectively cannot serve as a proper soldier with such a status. Next up is the "SaZ", (= "Soldat auf Zeit", or "Temporary Serviceman", which, again, sounds odd, I know). This service goes anywhere from the 23 months barrier the "FWDL" are subjected to, up to 25 years. This probably covers the bulk of active soldiers, and is obviously less flexible due to the much bigger commitment. Once you have made that decision, you cannot easily back out again (I suppose that is the case in America as well). However, you get that juicy full pay and you can serve as a proper soldier. This is basically the "classic" status and found from the lowest OR-1 up to OF ranks. You can start out with this status or as FWDL, depending on your choice. If you intend to join the Bundeswehr as an "SaZ", you will be subjected to a harsher selection process including a psychological analysis. This falls flat if you upgrade your status from FWDL to SaZ during your service time, which is definitely possible and even encouraged if you are a good lad. The final "major" status is that of a "Berufssoldat" (= Professional Soldier - yes, indeed, you are not a professional soldier until you have that status apparently. But this is a quite literal translation - Beruf = job, or, alternatively, profession and Soldat = well, Soldier). These guys are in it for the rest of their lives (which in Germany apparently ends with 62 or 65 years either by entirely voluntary self-termination or the decision to keep on living as a pensioner - I can't blame anyone for choosing the former). Whether it's 62 or 65 years depends on whether you were OR or OF. They are usually found pretty high up, thus carrying a whole lot of responsibility. But finding them there is not necessarily the case - even a Unteroffizier/Sergeant (OR-5) can become one as far as I know. This is still an application-based status and entirely voluntary, but you cannot start out as such. There is a selection process for this as well - whether you can become a Berufssoldat depends on years served, how well you served, mental and physical capacity and whether there is demand for them. There's a certain conference that is held each year that decides every application individually. Generally speaking, only proven SaZ are selected for it. Then there are Reservists, but that's an entirely different cup of tea. They are also subject to the same age limit though. Anyone from the German military or otherwise knowledgeable person on that topic reading this is encouraged to correct possible mistakes or inaccuracies on my part. So...TL;DR = Age limit - yes, 65 years at max.

"...in a democracy..." I interpreted as "you won't see a recruit actually die on camera".

When I was serving in the German army, we had two NCOs who tried out for KSK, both got back injured, but were allowed to try out again after the doctors said they were fully recovered. One of them even injured himself again.

I like how calm every instructor is. If you cant motivate yourself and need to be screamed at by the instructors, you're probably not the right guy anyhow...

8 kilos in a week, that is definitely over what's healthy. it is literally hell week.

"the hardest that can be asked of young men in a democracy" It simply means, "within the confines of the law" Some countries' SF selection processes are allowed to go a certain distance beyond the law (e.g. SAS) while some countries (ahem, Russia) pay the law no heed

Thanks for your commentary

17:00 yes, you just witnessed a Germing getting a warning for being funny for 2 seconds 😂 Rightfully so, of course. But imagine struggling for 100 hours, crack one joke during a short friendly conversation and the commanding officer from the conversation will write down date and time because you were funny. Now that's German style innit? Humor is inefficient. Love it 🇩🇪

"The hardest that can be allowed in a democracy" simply referrs to the german understanding of democracy and the "Basic Law", which starts with "Human dignity shall be inviolable". Some Methods, even those of other democracies, violate that 1st Article in the eyes of that law. You cant "break" soldiers the way you see it in many movies, and they simply try to balance whats needed vs. whats allowed, and sometimes, lets be honest, push it over the line. But this has nothing to do with "democracy vs. non-democratic nations", it simply means pushing the limits of the german laws. What some people here say about the KSK being not disbanded is false, so is to say they are. In fact, their under supervision and get reorganised due to some other laws they pushed over the limit. Germany does not allow some gestures and signs, like the swastika, to be shown or used. Some, or lets say way too many, if not "with maybe a few exceptions", that Unit also seem to collect people with or tried to educate their soldier to the extreme right, which means that some of them started to plan terroristic activities and they organised themself in a way terrorists would do, including collecting weapons and other equipment, like explosives, from the german army. So they are currently reduced in numbers, some are under investigation or wait for their trial already. If the secretary of defense is not pleased with the attempt to get that unit back on track, following the german ethics and laws, it will be disbanded. Its doesnt matter how expensive their training was, cause in the end, if they get disbanded, its simply means germany trained potential right terrorists within their own army. This means they will do whats possible to avoid that, but they also have no option if they dont manage to get this unit "fixed".

For non-Germans: 16:50 + - the officer talking to the master sergeant is brigadier general .

Ruhige und zurückhaltende Kameraden, unverzichtbar in der Truppe! (stille Helden) jeder redet über sie und keiner weiß etwas (sehr altes Video)

From the couple of similar videos I like this KSK and SAS the most. Obviously it is edited and lots of details are missing, but the general impression is great. Greetings from Poland.

KSK is partely Disbanded and that was only beginning test now there comes the training and they learn in every climate situation so have fun boys

I talked to a Green Beret back in 1996 about the KSK. I asked him what he thought of them. His answer, "They're some tough hombres."

great video! greedings from germany

This was really cool to watch

In the Bundeswehr we say:" dont get shot becouse i dont want to carry you the whole Time! " If you did that one time, you know why... XD

Workout game: Everytime James tells you to put something in the comments you do 20 burpees

Whoever made the translations for the subtitles is a legend, couldn't get any better

Thanks for the Video with your professionell opinions. I can see you know what you are talking about.

if you place the log "lightly" on the ground you get a second chance, if you just throw the log on the ground you get disqualified

Im a simple human, I see a Jamesons Travels video, I click.

Explains a lot about them today!

This is realy nice channel you have. The longer I watch it, the more I watch it. Do a bit of aviation warfare, I am all into that, modern or vintage or WW2. You name it, I know it.

I used to play football/soccer with an ex-KSK guy the closest he came to dying was when he split from his wife and in a fit of anger decided to siphon the water out of their water bed. Forgetting it had been in there for a number of years he ended up with a really bad dose of bacterial 'food poisoning' Playing against him in training was like running into a concrete wall that had the steel bars poking out in random places.

the "democracy bid" is referring to our history. The constitution reads "The dignity of man is unimpeachable." so it is a challenge for our special forces to put applicants through situations that will make them as battle ready as possible... It is supposed to hinder the german military to ever succumb to fascist tendencies and form a state within the state. That also plays into the current scandal within that unit. Greetings from Germany, Friedrich, naval reserve officer

Worked with them on tour a couple of times very professional bunch of lads.

Something to notice: the Brigadier General adresses the applicant with "du". In German there are 2 ways to say "you": the formal "Sie" wich you use for anyone you adress with their last name and the informal "du" wich is normally reserved for kids and people you know.

German KSK 🇩🇪 one the best Special Forces. Thanks for The reaction. 🇩🇪🇺🇸 Respect to merica

Thats a normal thing in germany that people when they get old get to be the teachers for new ones coming. cuz they cant do the job anymore but they can transfer their experience well and know what you need for the job. its jsut a common thing over here.

Training, along with maneuver, etc. is a different animal. I'm from a cold place, and cold never bugged me too bad, but some guys from the South had a tough time the first week. The good thing was, they listened to our cold weather tips, and "got grim."

With the log-carry, I love that they don't tell the applicants how long the course is.

The General, Golden Oakleaf 1 star talked with him, like an old friend.. He used "du" instead of "sie"

Hey Jameson, I'm from Germany and went to the military for 1 year. The entire military in Germany is very focused on staying moderate politically. Because of the whole nazism business, the military is still seen in a bad spotlight in Germany. This year they found a KSK soldier with bombs, a whole bunch of rifles, including nazi propaganda like Because of this, the KSK has gotten restricted severely. The military in Germany gets very scrutinized. Every single move is checked and evaluated. Greetings from Berlin.

Having worked and trained with GSG9 I can only say the folks I played with were decent, good bunch with great skills.

saw your channel by accident and subscribed straight away after watching few videos. I am from Berlin and served in the military 3 years as a must at this time when I was young and we still had the “ anti fascist wall”. I like your commentaries and your experience. You are through and through a true soldier with a bright mind. To the video: germans are not people of many words. Thats why the instructor wasn’t yelling on the recruits. Germans say things one time if you adapt you are a good boy if not your problem. You can observe this everywhere in daily life. If you come late to work they warn you ones when you come late a second time you are fired.

To give meaning to the phrase used: "The hardest that can be allowed in a democracy." Even though the KSK selection process is designed to only allow a select few into the Corps, every method during the selection process MUST adhere to any individual's right pertaining to his physical or mental well-being. No trainee is to be made crazy or scarred for life, doesn't matter how much preparation the KSK wants to give its soldiers for an eventual conflict and the consequences of being captured. Upon being formally introduced into the KSK, in other words, AFTER a successful selection process, the KSK may devise training situations for its soldiers that go past the theoretical limit, to a point where neither mental nor physical well-being can be guaranteed(though medics are present at all times). Before these situations, a soldier has to be formally asked whether or not he agrees to being subjected to heavy torture, and the parliamentary commisionar of the forces has to be informed and agree to these being held as well. These go past "what is allowed for a democracy to do" [to its own citizens].

This makes my feet hurt watching this lol man you're right about the feet swelling up when you stop! Every 5k you stop your feet hurt worse and worse

one thing that helped me personally was the fact that every one who is giving you orders has done the same shit.. and they still overlived it

You have to leave the operational teams of most german sf groups at about 45 ... they do keep experienced guys around for selection and training purposes. Also you have to pass tests regarding your physical condition / tactics / shooting etc every year in order to stay with the team regardless of your age.

I met some of those KSK Guys in my time in the military. Crazy guys for sure.

KSK is made up of 4 companies. 2nd company was officially disbanded in August 1st but the internal process will require around half a year, while the whole KSK remains under observation, a probation period until autumn. The unencumbered soldiers of the approximately 70 men and women of the 2nd Company will be distributed to the remaining KSK units after a check. The attempt at reform is to be monitored and controlled centrally under the overall supervision of the Inspector General. Commander Markus Kreitmayr, who has headed the association since 2018. Members of the 2nd company, during a farewell party for a superior in 2017, played right-wing rock music, shown the Hitler salute and pigs' heads were thrown. Since the incident became known, the soldiers from the company concerned had apparently not contributed to the internal investigation of the scandal. The military counterintelligence service had previously made the KSK the focus of investigations and they knew knows 30 right-wing extremist. The final decisive factor for the radical cut in the elite unit was ultimately the discovery of weapons, ammunition and explosives at a member of the KSK in Saxony, the elite unit's inventory is also missing 48,000 rounds of ammunition and 62 kg of explosives. After this event the Federal Defense Minister has decided for a general reform of the KSK in order to reduce their autonomy and the possibility of extremist infiltration.

These guys are of course the best of the best, but as a Finn born in cold weather it sometimes is funny how they do many things just the most difficult way. :)

KSK still alive! They decide it few days ago. Greetings from germany nice video sir

Please also do a reaction to the "Kampfschwimmer", our Navy Seals basically.

11:54 Translation problem: a classical german "Zentner" is 50kg (100 Pfund, 1Pfund = 500g) so Hundred-pound, NOT 100kg. That is a "Doppelzentner" or "Dezitonne".

If i rememeber it right, the age limit for active service in KSK was 36 years old. But I guess one can still work as an instructor, after reaching that age.

I would like to see more sir. Thank you

I'd imagine the, "put water on your feet " was mostly a joke to see what he'd do. But, also, the cold probably would help reduce swelling. But it'd probably take time lol.

"They are not shouting at them like in the US" True, different mentality. Shouting like the US does and correcting can motivate or destroy you, but... it's not likely to happen in realistic scenarios. There will not be any instructor shouting you in warefare situations, you'll most probably be on your own or with mates fighting their own inner demons. Either you make it out of inner force, or you fail.

"The hardest that can be allowed in a democracy" flashlight with loud rock music , waterboarding and other stuff to stress people over hours ^^

Dude i loved how he walked like a 80yo in the end of the video. This guy had a hard week some might say.

Something I think is important to add, the KSK has one of the most modern training facilities/shooting houses in the world, the so called "Gebäude 8"/"Building 8", with an unprecedented arsenal of firearms from all over the world. During the investigations which led to the end of 2nd Command Company, the whereabouts of around 48000 rounds of ammunition and around 62kg of explosives remain unknown.

They are allowed to come back and try again, when they needed to leave cause of an injury. But they wont get a second chance if they gave up. There is an age limit for "Combat Ready" Operators but not for the instructors.

i was a cavalry scout with the tenth mountain division and my first winter there my unit did a winter gunnery and it was 40 below zero. so cold pieces just sheered off one of our 50 calibers.

Thanks for the great stuff. Some footage about German EGB (similar to Rangers) would be great. They lead the way, too!:)

I'd like to see more German military content

The water actually helps slipping into the neopren shoes. : >

This guys are hardcore!!!

i can say this: It can feel better to march in cold weather than in very hot, but it really aint better. I remember we marched with 20kg packs in 20 minus degrees for about 24 hours and it was all about not sweating. Once you sweat and stop it can become dangerous. So that is one major problem + the amount of extra energy usage when it is cold.

Would be so cool if you reacted to some ross kemp documentaries with the british troops in Afghanistan. Love your videos keep it up.

The old officer with the moustaches is actually a general and was the commander of the KSK.

The soldier evaluating the participants at the end is a general btw. So you can see there are not many soldiers who even make it to the final evaluation and they don't take this lightly.

Right u are, they need these type of guys. Ex german airforce drill instructpr here.

I think what they mean with "The hardest that can be allowed in a democracy" is refereing to what you can do to people without breaking the law. (§ 1 of the german constitution: Human dignity shall be inviolable) About the Senior officers, there is a saying in germany "There is only one thing that can replace experiance: More experience." You just can't afford to lose those who have that much experience. "To far right wing" means, there were Nazi Cults emerging among the troops, people were building a SS like Warrior creed up, some very shady shit, which is something that can not be tolerated in the german Bundeswehr. In the KSK, they dont care about your view, if you can make it through the training with glasses with more then -6dpt, you are good. But many struggle, imagine the swimming part with glasses in that kind of weather. What i find extrodanary and most non german speaking folks here might not realize, he talked to him thhe personal "Du" form, very evenness anywhere else in the Army...

I'd definitely be interested in having more about the German Military and even the Japanese Military. They have had similar journeys since the war so it's an interesting pair of countries to look at.

"exclude the rambo type", lol small coincidence in him mentioning that, just a little over an hour ago, I just finished watching the first two Rambo movies for the very first time, with some family.