CT Units Info Please

[OzMan]

I'm looking for some information/photos of some counter-terrorist units to research for a book. I've already been to specialoperations.com and that didn't tell me much.

Austrian GEK "Cobras"
Egyptian Unit 777
Switzeralnd's STERN

Anyone know any good sites to go to? Any pictures?

Thanks.

[Piccolo]

Sorry, can't be of much help, but i'd suggest you to search on google.com for them.

The only force I have really read any about is the 777 unit, whom do not get much praise from what little Eric Haney mentioned of them in Inside Delta Force. Of course, this was earlier in their history.. I have no idea if the unit fixed it's managment problems.

[rafaelcb]

Maybe you will be interested in Spain's GEOs. They are the Spanish police CT unit, were created 25 years ago, have never suffered a single loss despite conducting hundreds of arrests against ETA (basque terrorists).

They are (unfortunately) one of the CT units with more practical experience in the world. From Understanding Terrorism video series:

"UNDERSTANDING TERRORISM is an unflinching look at the world's elite counter-terrorism organizations, a retrospect of the growing threat of global terrorism and a look at the country of Afghanistan and the people, controlled by a violent autocratic regime intent on forcing society back into the Dark Ages. The series covers international forces in government agencies, elite military units and law enforcement squads such as the Delta Force (U.S.), GSG-9 (Germany), S.A.S. (U.K.), GEO (Spain), GEK Cobra (Austria), among others. "

Translated from the Police website:
https://www.policia.es/policiahoy/prensa1.htm
During its 25-years histroy GEO has captured 35 armed terrorist groups, has rescued over 400 hostages all of them unharmed. One of the things that GEO prides itself of is the fact the only 3 criminals have been killed in their operations. As one of the GEO officers puts it, "It's far more difficult capturing a terrorist alive than killed; it is also far more productive"

The current issue of the spanish magazine 'Soldiers-Raids' is a monography on the unit. I can scan some of the articles for you if you can read spanish. Several american magazines (SWAT magazine and Journal of the Elite Forces & Swat Units, Vol. 13 ) have articles on them.

http://www.bbemariniers.net/img/misc/otherunits/geo1.gif

http://www.terra.es/personal7/hispapolis/geo2.htm

http://www.defensa.com/revistas/2001/septiembre/images/geo-4.gif

[OzMan]

Believe it or not, I've already got a bunch of info about the GEO. I just found a whole lot about them from SWAT magazine, and gign.org. I've done google searches, and nothing useful came up. For the book, I've been researching and using over 15 CT units, and these three are the only ones I need but can't find out about.

[Bootneck]

Try this one:

http://students.engr.scu.edu/~jabraham/specwar/specops/home.html

[OzMan]

Yeah, that is also a really good site (I've been there before, too), but it didn't have anything on these three units. But thanks for the suggestion, I've been trying to remember the name of that site, and have forgotten about it.

I did some searching for that video series, specifically at ambrosevideo.com, and they say the price for the videos are $100. I'm assuming that's for all five of them. Know of any other place I could get them for cheaper?

Thanks.

[seventy6er]

I'm looking for some information/photos of some counter-terrorist units to research for a book. I've already been to specialoperations.com and that didn't tell me much.

Austrian GEK "Cobras"
Egyptian Unit 777
Switzeralnd's STERN

Anyone know any good sites to go to? Any pictures?

Thanks.

cobra: http://www.defence-net.de/spezialeinheiten/gek/gek-wapp.gif 400 operators (not only shooters but support too), founded 1978

Stern: Stern (german for star) is the SWAT team of the swiss canton of Bern; not really a full-time swat. the police officers are on normal duty and only train together on special occasions.


no info bout the eqyptians...

[OzMan]

Sweet, thanks seventy6er.

[Bootneck]

Eqyptian Unit 777 - http://www.specwarnet.com/world/777.htm

[OzMan]

All right, cool. Thanks guys. :D

[Duke]

Eagle have you seen the GEK pages at specialoperations.com site?? What I can add to that site is: once used the Browning Hi-Power and Manurhin 357, now use the 45 sigs and use steyr rifles, some are combat swimmers. Thats about it.

[OzMan]

Yeah, I've been there. Most of the pics are too dark or not close enough to the operators. I'm trying to find out things like what kind of vests they use, what weapons, what their qualifications are, a little bit of their history, some operations, etc...

Thanks guys.

[Duke]

http://www.arrestatieteam.nl/AT-artikel-gek.php

actually just use google with Gendarmerieeinsatzkommando bunch of sites[/url]

[Chops]

Eagle

I can give you information on all three units- what do you need?

Duke- SIG .45s? Really? Standard in GEK Cobra is the 9milly Glock 17 unless things have changed rather dramatically very recently. Some still use the .357.

rgds

Chops

[OzMan]

All right. I need mostly just info about Unit 777 now, and a little more about the STERN. I'm looking to see what kind of weapons they use, what their command structure is, where they are based at, their jurisdiction, and what kind of training they go through. And, if you could, I'd like to know what the names of their ranks are (i.e. sergeant, staff sergeant, etc.)

Thanks.

[Chops]

Okay Eagle here we go in abbreviated style;

Info is mid/late nineties so things may have changed...

777- officially called Task Force Unit 777 'Wehdat 777 Qataal', appeared on the Egyptian Army OOB in July '77, strength is/was around 200 shooters. Use MP5 series, Ingrams, M16s, AKMs, scoped FALs, SVDs. Sidearm was a locally produced Beretta 951 copy. Were going over to the Glock but cannot confirm. With heavy US SF influence it wouldn't surprise me if they now had M4s but likewise cannot confirm. Based in Cairo at the Egyptian SF Command- the As-Saiqa building opposite the MOD; their training facilities are an hour outside the capital.

Jurisdiction is an interesting one. It's primarily domestic CT but has operated abroad in the protection of Egyptian diplomatic posts and has operated covertly on cross border ops into Libya and Sudan.

No idea on rank or command structure although due to heavy US SF influence I would imagine an American pattern command structure. Training is another I'm hazy on- all were parachute qual'd and Egyptian SF qual'd which I believe now again follows a US structure.

777 had a horrendous reputation as a CT unit- March 1978 extended hijacking at Nicosia in Cyprus; tried an Entebbe and managed to get into an hour long firefight with Cypriot National Guard and police who thought they were terrorist reinforcements as the Egyptians had failed to clear the op with the Cypriots! Fifteen dead 777 operators and a couple of dead Cypriots was the result. God knows what the PFLP terrorists still in the DC8 thought!

Even worse was the November 1985 assault on a hijacked Egyptair 737 at Luqa International, Malta. Without flashbangs or distraction devices, they instead used smoke grenades (!) and an under belly breeching charge as they had no blueprints or schematics of the 737. The breeching munition killed twenty passengers, the assaulters were blinded by their own smoke and shot hostages along with terrorists and exciteable sniper teams slotted exiting hostages as they ran from the aircraft. Fifty seven hostages were killed by the close of the op. A CAG advisory team were inbound but 777 elected to assault before the Americans arrived.

Since then they have participated in hundreds of mainly domestic CT ops principally against the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

STERN- officially the Kantonspolizei Bern Stern Gruppe. One of a number of CT/PTG teams in Switzerland- each 'canton' or state has one as has the capital. International standard selection followed by six month operator training followed by regular continuation training (SCUBA, EOD, climbing, offensive driving, combat medical etc). Stern has about 60 operators.

Use a lovely range of kit- P226, P228, P229, Remington M870s in various configs, MP5A3, MP5SD3, MP5KA4, HK33E, SIG SSG3000, SIG SG550, and SIG SG551-1P.

Most well known ops was the recovery of a hijacked Air France 737 in 1984 with assistance of the Geneva team and the Enzian Group's (the capital's team)/Stern Group's takedown of the Polish Embassy siege again in 1984.

Hope this helps. Perhaps we may have some former US SF here who could update you on the Egyptian situation.

rgds

Chops

[StarvingStudent47]

http://www.isayeret.com

Israeli Special Forces home page. You'll find lots of CT stuff there.

[OzMan]

Badass. Thanks Chops. I could probably talk to my cousin when he gets back (he's SF), but I haven't heard from him in over five years, and the last I heard about him was about a week or two before the ground war in Afghanistan started and my uncle told us that, "Everyone who is HALO qualified has to go", so I think I know how he got in. But now, god knows where he is. He could be in the Phillippines (doubt it, though), he could be in Iraq, we don't know. I wish I knew which SF group he was from so I could have some sort of idea.

Awesome, that really helps! :D Thanks guys.