Watch: The Strong Europe Tank Challenge – 2016

What is the Strong Europe Tank Challenge? U.S. Army Europe and the German Bundeswehr co-hosted the Strong Europe Tank Challenge at Grafenwoehr Training Area, May 10-12, 2016, with an awards ceremony held on May 13. Six NATO nations took part in the Strong Europe Tank Challenge — each sending tank platoons to vie for first […]

Heckler and Koch Illegally Exported Weapons to Corrupt Mexican Police Forces

A prosecutor asked for the opening of an investigation into four journalists and an activist, who revealed that German arms company, Heckler and Koch (H&K), illegally exported assault rifles to corrupt Mexican police forces. The investigative journalists uncovered documents which suggest that the German government may have colluded with H&K to circumvent the German arms […]

Detachment A: the Cold War Sabotage Experts of Special Forces

Imagine American Special Forces soldiers traveling around Baghdad in civilian vehicles, speaking the local language, carrying false passports, and operating under a cover as they case targets and dodge foreign intelligence agents. Today, such a thing is an impossibility, a much sought after capability that Special Forces has been unable to attain in recent years. […]

Watch: The Bundeswehr (German Military): Train the Peshmerga in Iraq

In February 2015, the Bundeswehr (German military,)  began training the security forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Peshmerga. A contingent of 150 German soldiers is stationed in northern Iraq to train the Peshmerga in the face of the threat of Daesh [ISIS/ISIL]. The Bundeswehr camp located in Erbil, the largest city in the Kurdish areas […]

Watch: 1,000 Paratroopers Take to Sky Over Germany

Approximately 1000 paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, in cooperation with NATO Allies and partnered nations, blanketed the sky as they descended onto German soil. The massive personnel drop was a part of exercise Saber Junction 16 near the Hohenfels Training Area, April 12, 2016. https://youtu.be/tW5WuiKQvwk The international cohesion behind the airborne operation was as […]

The German Army (Bundeswehr), to Reorganize Against Digital Threats

The real need to intercept online radicalism, EU plans to defend against Hybrid Warfare, the expansion of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence and a global influx of Chinese espionage. Germany is opting to central its digital defense strategy, a methodology yet to be adopted by the United States. “Defence Minister Ursula von der […]

German authorities say teen planned ‘martyrdom operation’

Prosecutors say a 15-year-old girl who stabbed a police officer is being investigated on suspicion of supporting a terrorist organization. Safia S., whose surname wasn’t given due to privacy rules, was already being held on suspicion of attempted murder and serious bodily harm for attacking the officer with a kitchen knife at Hannover train station […]

There is Always One Mission Everyone is Good for: 900 Police Raid 1 Brothel

More often than not, you’re never at full strength. A few may be down for illness or injury, others for additional duties, and other have a recovery day. Although, there is that rare mission that comes down the pipes, which everyone seems to be miraculously present for. For instance, the 900 Polizei who showed up […]

German conservatives call for Islam Law

The CSU aims to ban foreign funding of German mosques to stave off extremism. The proposal has Muslim supporters, but opponents say the regulation violates a key constitutional right. The sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU has called for stricter regulations of Islam in Germany. CSU General Secretary Andreas Scheuer laid out his proposals […]

Watch: American and NATO Forces in Norway for Cold Response

Cold Response 2016 is held in the Trøndelag counties in Central Norway. The main exercise phase included approximately 15,000 soldiers from 14 nations participate. This year, the following nations participate in Cold Response: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the USA, the United Kingdom and Norway. In addition, there are […]

German Army Uses Toy Tanks to Train Kurdish Fighters

German Army advisors in Iraq are training Kurdish fighters to use the Panzerfaust III anti-tank rocket launchers that Germany donated to the Kurds. But training troops in the field to use brand-new weapons isn’t easy, and it’s even harder to train someone to use anti-tank weapons when you don’t have any tanks to destroy. In the mountains of Kurdistan, the Germans are […]