Ericsson
02-25-2006, 12:54 AM
Europe’s largest non-military law enforcement aviation agency is the Bundesgrenzschutz Aviation Group (BGS). This aviation organization performs a very significant role in maintaining the security of Germany, particularly in combating the worldwide threats of terrorism that exist today.
BGS Aviation Group is one of the specialized units within Bundesgrenzschutz, the Federal Border Police. BGS organizationally falls under the Federal Ministry of Interior Affairs. The Aviation Group headquarters is located in the western part of Germany in the city of Sankt Augustin, which is located southeast of the major city Koln. Within the headquarters are the following sections: Operations, Technique, Education/Training, Administration, and Quality Management. Sankt Augustin is also the home of the border police’s Aviation School and Central Maintenance Squadron.
There are five flying squadrons dispersed throughout Germany simply named: BGS Squadrons West, South, East, Central, and North. Over 700 personnel are assigned to the BGS Aviation Group, including 180 pilots, 121 flight technicians, and 175 mechanics. A total of 102 helicopters of seven different types comprise the fleet. However, a study is currently underway to reduce the number of helicopter types flown from seven to three. The advantages of flying fewer types, such as reduced maintenance and training expenses, are substantial.
The BGS Aviation Group is tasked with performing a number of missions vital to the security of Germany and its residents. To get an idea of the extent of these tasks, it is important to note the sheer amount of border that the BGS is required to police. Germany shares a 2,300 mile long land border with nine other countries: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark. Additionally, Germany has over 1,500 miles of coastline on the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
During a recent trip to Berlin, Germany to attend the 2004 International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition and Conference, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit Bundesgrenzschutzfliegerstaffel Ost, the BGS Aviation Squadron East. This squadron is located in Blumberg, about 30 kilometers northeast of Berlin. Prior to the fall of the wall surrounding Berlin and dividing East and West Germany in November of 1989, Blumberg was part of East Germany. Blumberg is a small, tranquil town surrounded by dense forests and fertile farmland. The BGS Squadron East occupies a very modern building with an adjacent, expansive heliport, large maintenance hangars, and control tower, which were completed in 1998.
To the west of the heliport are several very tall, majestic windmills that generate some of the electricity for the nearby area. Security measures around the facility are extensive. Prior to occupying this facility, BGS East was based at Berlin’s Templehof Airport. This is the airport made famous during the Berlin Airlift of 1948 and 1949, when thousands of United States, French, and British Air Force flights brought food and badly needed supplies into the beleaguered, cut-off city of West Berlin. The Germans affectionately referred to the US Air Force C-47, C-54, and DC-4 airplanes as “rosinen bomber,” meaning raisin bombers, for carrying the food that saved their lives. Stalin’s attempt to starve and freeze the people of West Berlin was defeated.
During my visit, I met the commanding officer of the unit, Colonel Karl-Heinz Schenk. He has been a member of BGS since 1977 and a pilot since 1981. Under his command are 115 personnel, including 27 pilots, 20 flight technicians, 28 mechanics, and 39 support personnel. He has responsibility for eighteen helicopters in six types: the EC 135, EC 155, BO 105 CBS S5, Alouette SA 318C, Super Puma AS 332, and Puma SA 330. On January 1, 2004, he was given additional responsibility for the flight operations of the Berlin City Police Air Support Unit. At that time, the BGS Squadron East and the Berlin City Police Air Unit formed an alliance to work together to support Federal and Berlin City Police missions in the capitol of Germany more efficiently and cost-effectively.
The assistant commanding officer of the BGS East is Captain Thomas Hochstein. He joined the BGS in 1977. After completing four years of service, he was selected to attend flight school in 1981 and has been a pilot in the BGS for over 23 years. Prior to his current assignment as assistant commanding officer, he was a pilot for ten years at BGS Squadron North, based in Fuhlendorf. Colonel Schenk, Captain Hochstein, and Captain Hartmut Ziep, who handles administrative matters for the Berlin City Police Air Support unit, and Officer Romy Siedel gave me a thorough tour of their facility and a very informative briefing on the operations of BGS Aviation Group and BGS Flight Squadron East, in particular.
Assistant Commanding Officer Hochstein explained the requirements to become a pilot or flight technician in the BGS Aviation Group. First, interested personnel must be accepted to the BGS Academy. Once a person is accepted, they must attend a resident academy that is 105 to 126 weeks in duration. Upon successful completion of all aspects of this rigorous training program and graduation from the BGS Academy, personnel are sent to various assignments throughout the country.
Personnel who wish to specialize in a career as a pilot may apply for acceptance to BGS Flight School. Only the best and most highly motivated are selected to attend flight school. Flight school is a 66 week resident flight training program based in Sankt Augustin. Pilot candidates receive extensive classroom, technical and flight instruction. Flight training is given first in the single engine turbine Alouette SA 318C helicopter. After becoming proficient flying the Alouette, pilots transition to the EC 135 twin- engine police helicopter.
Upon satisfactory completion of all phases of flight training, the average student will accumulate 240 hours of dual flight and 50 hours of solo flight. Students graduate with a Commercial Helicopter Pilot Certificate, including NVG- Operations with a Twin Engine Helicopter rating (EC 135). Pilots are then assigned as co-pilots in one of the five squadrons to receive further training and gain operational experience.
Upon reaching a satisfactory operational experience level of between 100 and 150 flight hours on a variety of police missions, they will be checked out by instructors of BGS Flight School as Pilots-in-Command. With a total flight experience of 800 flight hours in command, many BGS pilots attend a 40-week long Instrument Flight Training program given at BGS Flight School. After completing this school and passing all the relevant tests, they receive an Air Transport Pilot Helicopter (ATPL-H) certificate with additional mission ratings on transport helicopters Bell 212, EC 155, SA 330 PUMA and/or AS 332 Super PUMA. Most pilots have two or three type ratings, which allows the squadrons to perform any mission in any of their helicopters very effectively.
BGS officers who desire to become Flight Technicians also attend 66 weeks of training concurrently with the pilot training at the BGS Fight School. This training program consists of extensive classroom, flight and technician instruction in maintenance. The average Flight Technician student will accumulate 180 flight hours, 1,000 hours of classroom instruction, and 1,300 hours of technical instruction and “hands-on” maintenance training. Technical preparation, maintenance inspection, aircraft systems, proper use of police mission equipment, navigation, communications, and mission assistance are the essentials of the flight technician’s job profile.
All pilots and flight technicians attend additional Crew Coordination and Crew Resource Management Training, which is renewed every three years. This extensive training program provides a solid foundation that ensures a high level of proficiency, mission operational readiness and success, and flight safety.
Flight Squadron East has responsibility for operating crew and helicopters from two satellite heliports at Chemnitz and Bautzen, located along Germany’s eastern border with Poland and Czechoslovakia. Aircrews are assigned to these outlying posts on a rotational basis for a one-week period. Their principal duties include border surveillance to fight illegal immigration and criminal investigation of all illegal and criminal border crossing activities in combined air and ground operations. These operations are conducted in cooperation with several border police authorities from Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia.
Germany has established a unique and impressive network of 52 helicopter Emergency Medical Service Stations. These stations are spaced every 50 to 70 kilometers to provide nearly 100 percent overlapping helicopter medical/rescue coverage throughout Germany. Responsibility for providing the aircrews and helicopters is divided among a combination of government and civil organizations: the BGS, German Army, ADAC (German Automobile Club), IFA (International Flight Ambulance), and German Air Rescue. The cost of operating these stations is borne by private insurance companies and the government. The BGS currently has responsibility for operating 16 of these stations. Twenty-two twin-engine BO 105 helicopters are committed to these life-saving missions.
BGS Flying Squadron East supplies aircrews and helicopters to operate two of these 16 stations in Brandenburg and Dresden. For the police pilots of BGS, the EMS operation is an essential training program which provides the crews with a variety of challenging flying experiences and increased flight hours paid completely by the insurance agencies.
Every two years, pilots of the SA 330 Puma, AS 332 Super Puma, and Bell 212 attend schools in neighboring countries for refresher VFR, IFR, and emergency procedures training, which includes using a simulator. The training for SA 330 Puma pilots occurs at the French Army Base Arienne Training Center in Toulouse, France. The Super Puma pilots go to the Swiss Air Force Training Center in Emmen, and the Bell 212 pilots attend training at the SAS Flight Academy in Stockholm.
Each squadron conducts their own specialized mission oriented training during the year. Commanding Officer Schenk puts his squadron through approximately 100 to 150 hours of specialized training in preparation for specific missions such as fire-fighting, air rescue, use of mission equipment such as FLIR, and tactical operations with special police units such as the world renowned Grenzschutzgruppe 9, commonly known as GSG 9.
All BGS pilots take check rides every twelve months in every helicopter type they are rated to fly. The check ride includes demonstration of proficiency in all missions, the use of night vision goggles (NVG), and IFR flight and procedures. Pilots also take a multiple choice written test on every aircraft they fly. In order to maintain standardization throughout the BGS Aviation Group, all check rides are performed under the supervision and authority of instructor pilots from the BGS Flight School.
Within BGS Squadron East, Assistant Commanding Officer Hochstein has the additional duty of monitoring currency among all pilots and flight technicians. Several “master” pilots who hold the highest type ratings and have the most experience in each aircraft assist him in accomplishing this task. These master pilots perform the duties performed by the chief pilot common to most law enforcement aviation units in the United States.
In January of 2004, BGS Squadron East and the Berlin Police entered into a unique cooperative agreement to share the expenses of purchasing and operating a new EC 135 twin-engine helicopter.
Each agency paid half of the initial acquisition cost. A mixed crew consisting of one BGS pilot or flight technician and one Berlin Police pilot or flight technician operate the aircraft. Berlin Police Pilot Hartmut Ziep and Flight Technician Thomas Kennin explained that this new working relationship has proved to be mutually beneficial. Due to tight budgetary conditions similar to those being experienced by many US police departments, the Berlin Police Department was unable to afford the expense of a new helicopter. This arrangement gives the Berlin Police a helicopter to use for a variety of police missions.
It was very obvious during my visit to the BGS Squadron East that the personnel were highly trained, very motivated, and prepared to handle the many diverse missions they are assigned.
BGS Aviation Group is one of the specialized units within Bundesgrenzschutz, the Federal Border Police. BGS organizationally falls under the Federal Ministry of Interior Affairs. The Aviation Group headquarters is located in the western part of Germany in the city of Sankt Augustin, which is located southeast of the major city Koln. Within the headquarters are the following sections: Operations, Technique, Education/Training, Administration, and Quality Management. Sankt Augustin is also the home of the border police’s Aviation School and Central Maintenance Squadron.
There are five flying squadrons dispersed throughout Germany simply named: BGS Squadrons West, South, East, Central, and North. Over 700 personnel are assigned to the BGS Aviation Group, including 180 pilots, 121 flight technicians, and 175 mechanics. A total of 102 helicopters of seven different types comprise the fleet. However, a study is currently underway to reduce the number of helicopter types flown from seven to three. The advantages of flying fewer types, such as reduced maintenance and training expenses, are substantial.
The BGS Aviation Group is tasked with performing a number of missions vital to the security of Germany and its residents. To get an idea of the extent of these tasks, it is important to note the sheer amount of border that the BGS is required to police. Germany shares a 2,300 mile long land border with nine other countries: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark. Additionally, Germany has over 1,500 miles of coastline on the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
During a recent trip to Berlin, Germany to attend the 2004 International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition and Conference, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit Bundesgrenzschutzfliegerstaffel Ost, the BGS Aviation Squadron East. This squadron is located in Blumberg, about 30 kilometers northeast of Berlin. Prior to the fall of the wall surrounding Berlin and dividing East and West Germany in November of 1989, Blumberg was part of East Germany. Blumberg is a small, tranquil town surrounded by dense forests and fertile farmland. The BGS Squadron East occupies a very modern building with an adjacent, expansive heliport, large maintenance hangars, and control tower, which were completed in 1998.
To the west of the heliport are several very tall, majestic windmills that generate some of the electricity for the nearby area. Security measures around the facility are extensive. Prior to occupying this facility, BGS East was based at Berlin’s Templehof Airport. This is the airport made famous during the Berlin Airlift of 1948 and 1949, when thousands of United States, French, and British Air Force flights brought food and badly needed supplies into the beleaguered, cut-off city of West Berlin. The Germans affectionately referred to the US Air Force C-47, C-54, and DC-4 airplanes as “rosinen bomber,” meaning raisin bombers, for carrying the food that saved their lives. Stalin’s attempt to starve and freeze the people of West Berlin was defeated.
During my visit, I met the commanding officer of the unit, Colonel Karl-Heinz Schenk. He has been a member of BGS since 1977 and a pilot since 1981. Under his command are 115 personnel, including 27 pilots, 20 flight technicians, 28 mechanics, and 39 support personnel. He has responsibility for eighteen helicopters in six types: the EC 135, EC 155, BO 105 CBS S5, Alouette SA 318C, Super Puma AS 332, and Puma SA 330. On January 1, 2004, he was given additional responsibility for the flight operations of the Berlin City Police Air Support Unit. At that time, the BGS Squadron East and the Berlin City Police Air Unit formed an alliance to work together to support Federal and Berlin City Police missions in the capitol of Germany more efficiently and cost-effectively.
The assistant commanding officer of the BGS East is Captain Thomas Hochstein. He joined the BGS in 1977. After completing four years of service, he was selected to attend flight school in 1981 and has been a pilot in the BGS for over 23 years. Prior to his current assignment as assistant commanding officer, he was a pilot for ten years at BGS Squadron North, based in Fuhlendorf. Colonel Schenk, Captain Hochstein, and Captain Hartmut Ziep, who handles administrative matters for the Berlin City Police Air Support unit, and Officer Romy Siedel gave me a thorough tour of their facility and a very informative briefing on the operations of BGS Aviation Group and BGS Flight Squadron East, in particular.
Assistant Commanding Officer Hochstein explained the requirements to become a pilot or flight technician in the BGS Aviation Group. First, interested personnel must be accepted to the BGS Academy. Once a person is accepted, they must attend a resident academy that is 105 to 126 weeks in duration. Upon successful completion of all aspects of this rigorous training program and graduation from the BGS Academy, personnel are sent to various assignments throughout the country.
Personnel who wish to specialize in a career as a pilot may apply for acceptance to BGS Flight School. Only the best and most highly motivated are selected to attend flight school. Flight school is a 66 week resident flight training program based in Sankt Augustin. Pilot candidates receive extensive classroom, technical and flight instruction. Flight training is given first in the single engine turbine Alouette SA 318C helicopter. After becoming proficient flying the Alouette, pilots transition to the EC 135 twin- engine police helicopter.
Upon satisfactory completion of all phases of flight training, the average student will accumulate 240 hours of dual flight and 50 hours of solo flight. Students graduate with a Commercial Helicopter Pilot Certificate, including NVG- Operations with a Twin Engine Helicopter rating (EC 135). Pilots are then assigned as co-pilots in one of the five squadrons to receive further training and gain operational experience.
Upon reaching a satisfactory operational experience level of between 100 and 150 flight hours on a variety of police missions, they will be checked out by instructors of BGS Flight School as Pilots-in-Command. With a total flight experience of 800 flight hours in command, many BGS pilots attend a 40-week long Instrument Flight Training program given at BGS Flight School. After completing this school and passing all the relevant tests, they receive an Air Transport Pilot Helicopter (ATPL-H) certificate with additional mission ratings on transport helicopters Bell 212, EC 155, SA 330 PUMA and/or AS 332 Super PUMA. Most pilots have two or three type ratings, which allows the squadrons to perform any mission in any of their helicopters very effectively.
BGS officers who desire to become Flight Technicians also attend 66 weeks of training concurrently with the pilot training at the BGS Fight School. This training program consists of extensive classroom, flight and technician instruction in maintenance. The average Flight Technician student will accumulate 180 flight hours, 1,000 hours of classroom instruction, and 1,300 hours of technical instruction and “hands-on” maintenance training. Technical preparation, maintenance inspection, aircraft systems, proper use of police mission equipment, navigation, communications, and mission assistance are the essentials of the flight technician’s job profile.
All pilots and flight technicians attend additional Crew Coordination and Crew Resource Management Training, which is renewed every three years. This extensive training program provides a solid foundation that ensures a high level of proficiency, mission operational readiness and success, and flight safety.
Flight Squadron East has responsibility for operating crew and helicopters from two satellite heliports at Chemnitz and Bautzen, located along Germany’s eastern border with Poland and Czechoslovakia. Aircrews are assigned to these outlying posts on a rotational basis for a one-week period. Their principal duties include border surveillance to fight illegal immigration and criminal investigation of all illegal and criminal border crossing activities in combined air and ground operations. These operations are conducted in cooperation with several border police authorities from Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia.
Germany has established a unique and impressive network of 52 helicopter Emergency Medical Service Stations. These stations are spaced every 50 to 70 kilometers to provide nearly 100 percent overlapping helicopter medical/rescue coverage throughout Germany. Responsibility for providing the aircrews and helicopters is divided among a combination of government and civil organizations: the BGS, German Army, ADAC (German Automobile Club), IFA (International Flight Ambulance), and German Air Rescue. The cost of operating these stations is borne by private insurance companies and the government. The BGS currently has responsibility for operating 16 of these stations. Twenty-two twin-engine BO 105 helicopters are committed to these life-saving missions.
BGS Flying Squadron East supplies aircrews and helicopters to operate two of these 16 stations in Brandenburg and Dresden. For the police pilots of BGS, the EMS operation is an essential training program which provides the crews with a variety of challenging flying experiences and increased flight hours paid completely by the insurance agencies.
Every two years, pilots of the SA 330 Puma, AS 332 Super Puma, and Bell 212 attend schools in neighboring countries for refresher VFR, IFR, and emergency procedures training, which includes using a simulator. The training for SA 330 Puma pilots occurs at the French Army Base Arienne Training Center in Toulouse, France. The Super Puma pilots go to the Swiss Air Force Training Center in Emmen, and the Bell 212 pilots attend training at the SAS Flight Academy in Stockholm.
Each squadron conducts their own specialized mission oriented training during the year. Commanding Officer Schenk puts his squadron through approximately 100 to 150 hours of specialized training in preparation for specific missions such as fire-fighting, air rescue, use of mission equipment such as FLIR, and tactical operations with special police units such as the world renowned Grenzschutzgruppe 9, commonly known as GSG 9.
All BGS pilots take check rides every twelve months in every helicopter type they are rated to fly. The check ride includes demonstration of proficiency in all missions, the use of night vision goggles (NVG), and IFR flight and procedures. Pilots also take a multiple choice written test on every aircraft they fly. In order to maintain standardization throughout the BGS Aviation Group, all check rides are performed under the supervision and authority of instructor pilots from the BGS Flight School.
Within BGS Squadron East, Assistant Commanding Officer Hochstein has the additional duty of monitoring currency among all pilots and flight technicians. Several “master” pilots who hold the highest type ratings and have the most experience in each aircraft assist him in accomplishing this task. These master pilots perform the duties performed by the chief pilot common to most law enforcement aviation units in the United States.
In January of 2004, BGS Squadron East and the Berlin Police entered into a unique cooperative agreement to share the expenses of purchasing and operating a new EC 135 twin-engine helicopter.
Each agency paid half of the initial acquisition cost. A mixed crew consisting of one BGS pilot or flight technician and one Berlin Police pilot or flight technician operate the aircraft. Berlin Police Pilot Hartmut Ziep and Flight Technician Thomas Kennin explained that this new working relationship has proved to be mutually beneficial. Due to tight budgetary conditions similar to those being experienced by many US police departments, the Berlin Police Department was unable to afford the expense of a new helicopter. This arrangement gives the Berlin Police a helicopter to use for a variety of police missions.
It was very obvious during my visit to the BGS Squadron East that the personnel were highly trained, very motivated, and prepared to handle the many diverse missions they are assigned.