Combat swimmers under new leadership

On Wednesday, 26 March 2025 at 1 p.m., the commander of Operational Flotilla 1, Flotilla Admiral Christian Walter Meyer, will hand over command of the Naval Special Forces Command (KSM) from Frigate Captain Sebastian Schuldt to Captain Jörg Buddenbohm.

Frigate Captain Schuldt's time in command is coming to an end after two and a half years characterised by major changes. "The change from a permanent commitment in the Sahel as part of international crisis management to a focus on the extended Baltic Sea region against the backdrop of the turning point has shaped the Navy's Special Forces Command just as much as the realignment in 2023 and the subsequent increase of almost 100 per cent," said the outgoing commander. Sebastian Schuldt is moving to the Federal Ministry of Defence. Coming from the staff of Operational Flotilla 1 in Kiel, Captain Jörg Buddenbohm will take over the KSM. This means that an experienced combat swimmer is taking the helm of the Eckernförde special forces, as Buddenbohm was already commander of the oldest special forces unit in the Bundeswehr from 2013 to 2016. He was the first commander of the KSM after it was reorganised into an independent battalion in 2014.

Combat swimmer of the Naval Special Forces Command (KSM), Photo: Bundeswehr

Plans for combat swimmer units were already in place when the German Navy was founded in 1956. However, the first training courses only began in January 1959 with the help of France. The first German combat swimmer platoon was placed under the command of the naval battalion in Wilhelmshaven-Sengwarden with bases in Eckernförde and Borkum in August 1959. On 1 April 1964, an independent company was established in Eckernförde. The concept of the German combat swimmers is no longer tied purely to a water mission. Rather, as with the US Navy SEALs, water and air are used to approach unnoticed. He becomes a "triphiby" and is still the soldier with the broadest training spectrum within the Bundeswehr's combat units. Tactical diving - especially in co-operation with a submarine - is its unique selling point. In addition, the combat swimmer is also a parachutist, speedboat pilot, explosives expert, lone fighter and much more. In an emergency, he is the first to go into action, even in the most dangerous situations.