Kommando Spezialkräfte

Special Operations Forces
Special Operations Forces
Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK)
	KSK unit badge
Active	20 September 1996
Country	Germany
Branch	German Army
Type	Unified combatant command
Size	above 1,500
Part of	Rapid Forces Division
Garrison/HQ	Calw, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Mottos	Der Wille entscheidet; Facit Omnia Voluntas (“The will decides”);
Engagements	Yugoslav Wars; NATO intervention in Bosnia; Kosovo War; Operation Enduring Freedom; War in Afghanistan Battle of Tora Bora; TF K-Bar; Operation Anaconda; Northern Afghanistan; 2021 Kabul airlift; ;
Decorations	United States Navy Presidential Unit Citation (for service with Task Force K-Bar)
Website	Bundeswehr: Special Operations Forces (Kommando Spezialkräfte)
Commanders
Current; commander	Brigadier General Alexander Krone

The Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) is the special forces command of the German Army (Heer).

Formed in 1996, it is a brigade-level unit responsible for covert operations, counterterrorism, hostage rescue, direct action, high-value target missions, irregular warfare, ISTAR, rapid response in military emergencies, and other special operations. The KSK is based at the Graf Zeppelin Barracks in Calw, Baden-Württemberg, and is subordinated to the Rapid Forces Division (Division Schnelle Kräfte, DSK).

The Special Air Service (SAS), the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), and the German Federal Police's GSG 9 (Grenzschutzgruppe 9) of the former Federal Border Guard (Bundesgrenzschutz, BGS) served as models for the formation of the KSK.

The unit has received decorations and awards from NATO, the United States, and allied forces. KSK personnel have participated in joint counterterrorism operations, notably in the Balkans and the Middle East.