Successful cooperation - returnee appeal for Gazelle training mission

On Monday, 3 April 2023 at 1 p.m., a roll call will take place as a symbolic act for the end of the Joint Special Operations Task Force (JSOTF) Gazelle. This was part of the European Union Training Mission (EUTM) Mali and will take place with invited guests from politics and the military at the Eckernförde naval base. This special recognition goes not only to the men and women of the Naval Special Forces Command (KSM), but also without reservation to all the Bundeswehr units involved, who made this mission a success by working together successfully.

Combat swimmers and language mediators (digital camouflage) instruct Nigerien special forces at Camp Wüstenblume near Tahoma/Niger. Photo: Bundeswehr/M.Tessensohn)

Initially it was a training mission, but shortly afterwards it became a deployment as part of EUTM Mali until the end of 2022. For the KSM as the responsible lead unit, it was quite simply a mammoth task and at the same time the largest special forces deployment of the Bundeswehr in terms of the size of the task force. With a strength of over 200 soldiers, the contingents were made up of almost equal numbers from all military organisational areas (Army, Air Force, Navy, Armed Forces Base, Bundeswehr Central Medical Service, Cyber and Information Space): However, the oldest specialised unit of the Bundeswehr, the KSM, was in charge of the entire unit.

The task was to set up and train the Nigerien partner organisation, the 41st Battalion Special d'Intervention, on the front line. At the same time, support was provided for the establishment of a training centre for the Nigerien special forces, which will ensure high-quality training in Niger in the future. This was an extremely challenging task for the KSM as the lead unit, but it was successfully completed on schedule and within the given time frame. Considering that everything had to take place in an environment that is atypical for the navy, after all, Camp Tillia was over 1000 kilometres away from the nearest coast in all directions.

A total of 209 members of the Navy were deployed as part of JSOTF Gazelle.