German special forces mistaken for terrorists after training mix-up in Arizona

[Rostocker]

How pathetic from USA to not even know the normal procedures of training. German troops are stationed in the USA and do training there and apparantly some idiots in local institutions are unable to understand normal protocoll.

No, German soldiers dont have to show ID cards to local authorities in the countries they are stationed at. For that the NATO papers are used. KSK members dont have to reveal their ID do commoners of a foreign country. Its a elite unit and their members
depend on secrecy. So this article is misleading. From now on the German Army will inform the german embassy in Washington, so the embassy can aswer whenever idiots call again.

German special forces mistaken for terrorists after training mix-up in Arizona

Soldiers refused to show their IDs at a local hospital and produced Nato orders instead, which set off a series of alerts

www.telegraph.co.uk

German special forces soldiers on a training mission in the US nearly caused a diplomatic incident earlier this month, it has emerged.

The German unit’s insistence on secrecy went badly wrong when a local hospital contacted the FBI over fears they could be extremists planning a terror attack.

Germany’s Special Forces Command (KSK) holds regular freefall parachute training in the small Arizona town of Eloy, just south of Phoenix, because of the clear weather conditions.

The training takes place with the agreement of the US authorities and the German army has posted several videos from previous years on social media.

But the fact the training is not a top secret mission does not appear to have fully registered with two of the special forces soldiers.

The soldiers in question were sent to the local hospital to inquire about medical facilities in the event any member of the unit was injured. But when they were asked to show their IDs they refused and instead produced Nato movement orders, which alarmed the hospital staff.

 

[swing_voter]

Probably one of those places where you never see a foreigner your whole life.

 

[Napoleon]

How pathetic from USA to not even know the normal procedures of training. German troops are stationed in the USA and do training there and apparantly some idiots in local institutions are unable to understand normal protocoll.

No, German soldiers dont have to show ID cards to local authorities in the countries they are stationed at. For that the NATO papers are used. KSK members dont have to reveal their ID do commoners of a foreign country. Its a elite unit and their members
depend on secrecy. So this article is misleading. From now on the German Army will inform the german embassy in Washington, so the embassy can aswer whenever idiots call again.

German special forces mistaken for terrorists after training mix-up in Arizona

Soldiers refused to show their IDs at a local hospital and produced Nato orders instead, which set off a series of alerts

www.telegraph.co.uk

German special forces soldiers on a training mission in the US nearly caused a diplomatic incident earlier this month, it has emerged.

The German unit’s insistence on secrecy went badly wrong when a local hospital contacted the FBI over fears they could be extremists planning a terror attack.

Germany’s Special Forces Command (KSK) holds regular freefall parachute training in the small Arizona town of Eloy, just south of Phoenix, because of the clear weather conditions.

The training takes place with the agreement of the US authorities and the German army has posted several videos from previous years on social media.

But the fact the training is not a top secret mission does not appear to have fully registered with two of the special forces soldiers.

The soldiers in question were sent to the local hospital to inquire about medical facilities in the event any member of the unit was injured. But when they were asked to show their IDs they refused and instead produced Nato movement orders, which alarmed the hospital staff.

That “elite” unit is participating in exercises which are recorded and posted on social media so maybe next time they should do what they’re told and stop pretending to be on some top secret mission. They’re guests here and they’re expected to follow the same rules as everyone else.

 

[Rostocker]

That “elite” unit is participating in exercises which are recorded and posted on social media so maybe next time they should do what they’re told and stop pretending to be on some top secret mission. They’re guests here and they’re expected to follow the same rules as everyone else.

They did what they are told. Their identity is not revealed in any video. Their are ordered to not reveal their identity to anyone. That practice wont change. The only change now is, that our embassy is informed before such missions so they can answer when another idiot calls.

And the KSK btw won several times the award to be the worlds best elite unit.

They will for sure not tell their identity to some dumb nurse in a hospital who will sell the name and adress to the taliban.

And as you see in the article they will also in future not show their ID. The german embassy gets informed about such training in advance so they can answer when an idiot calls.

They are also not guests. Our troops are stationed on USA based on treaties. You dont like that? Then leave NATO.

 

[Napoleon]

They did what they are told. Their identity is not revealed in any video. Their are ordered to not reveal their identity to anyone. That practice wont change. The only change now is, that our embassy is informed before such missions so they can answer when another idiot calls.

And the KSK btw won several times the award to be the worlds best elite unit.

They will fore sure not tell their identity to some dumb nurse in a hospital who will sell the name and adress to the taliban

Its not a military hospital. Why do you expect a civilian hospital to respond any differently than they would for any other person?

 

[Rostocker]

Probably one of those places where you never see a foreigner your whole life.

Idk i guess Arizona is kinda a backwater

 

[Rostocker]

Its not a military hospital. Why do you expect a civilian hospital to respond any differently than they would for any other person?

They showed the NATO documents. I think you might agree that it would not be very smart of members of a elite unit to show their id cards and show their name + adress ect?

 

[Napoleon]

They showed the NATO documents. I think you might agree that it would not be very smart of members of a elite unit to show their id cards and show their name + adress ect?

I think your point is moot considering their faces are plastered all over social media and any actor who wants to know who they are can easily find out via facial recognition. If you don’t want to play by the rules of the host country then find somewhere in Europe to do your training or go to a military hospital where such documents might be accepted. There are 3 within an hour of Eloy. Tell your meatheads to go there next time.

 

[swing_voter]

Idk i guess Arizona is kinda a backwater

I crossed through Arizona once to get to Florida from California. There's like 3 major cities and miles and miles and miles of desert.

To me the story is funny. No harm done.



.

 

[Rostocker]

I think your point is moot considering their faces are plastered all over social media and any actor who wants to know who they are can easily find out via facial recognition. If you don’t want to play by the rules of the host country then find somewhere in Europe to do your training or go to a military hospital where such documents might be accepted. There are 3 within an hour of Eloy. Tell your meatheads to go there next time.

Wrong. As you might read in the article, our soldiers will not show their ID cards in the future. Same procedure as now, only difference is, that our embassy gets informed.

That said, those are the military rules. Your country should teach institutions near training areas those basic rules.

 

[braindrain]

They did what they are told. Their identity is not revealed in any video. Their are ordered to not reveal their identity to anyone. That practice wont change. The only change now is, that our embassy is informed before such missions so they can answer when another idiot calls.

And the KSK btw won several times the award to be the worlds best elite unit.

They will for sure not tell their identity to some dumb nurse in a hospital who will sell the name and adress to the taliban.

And as you see in the article they will also in future not show their ID. The german embassy gets informed about such training in advance so they can answer when an idiot calls.

They are also not guests. Our troops are stationed on USA based on treaties. You dont like that? Then leave NATO.

What award was that exactly.
Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound here.
But then again it’s you so no surprise there.

 

[braindrain]

Wrong. As you might read in the article, our soldiers will not show their ID cards in the future. Same procedure as now, only difference is, that our embassy gets informed.

That said, those are the military rules. Your country should teach institutions near training areas those basic rules.

Sorry but the military in the US does not get to tell local hospitals how to do things.
And with all the recent problems German special operations units have had with nazis in their ranks probably a good idea for the hospital to check these guys out a little closer.

 

[Rostocker]

What award was that exactly.
Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound here.
But then again it’s you so no surprise there.

Im sure you can read yourself

Kommando Spezialkräfte - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

The Kommando Spezialkräfte (Special Forces Command, KSK) is an elite special forces military command composed of special operations soldiers selected from the ranks of Germany's Bundeswehr and organized under the Rapid Forces Division. The KSK has received many decorations and awards from NATO, the United States and its affiliates. KSK operatives are frequently requested for joint anti-terror operations, notably in the Balkans and Middle East.

 

[Rostocker]

Sorry but the military in the US does not get to tell local hospitals how to do things.

Then its time you brief your hospitals how things work.

 

[Grand Mal]

I crossed through Arizona once to get to Florida from California. There's like 3 major cities and miles and miles and miles of desert.

To me the story is funny. No harm done.

Stuff happens. I remember a time in the Afghan war when Bush awarded a Canadian special forces unit, JTF 2, with a Presidential Unit Citation at a time when the Canadian government still wasn't confirming they were even in Afghanistan.
Communication sometimes is less than perfect.

 

[braindrain]

Sorry but the military in the US does not get to tell local hospitals how to do things.

Im sure you can read yourself

Kommando Spezialkräfte - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

The Kommando Spezialkräfte (Special Forces Command, KSK) is an elite special forces military command composed of special operations soldiers selected from the ranks of Germany's Bundeswehr and organized under the Rapid Forces Division. The KSK has received many decorations and awards from NATO, the United States and its affiliates. KSK operatives are frequently requested for joint anti-terror operations, notably in the Balkans and Middle East.

Where does that say exactly they won awards being the best special operations force. Oh that’s right. It doesn’t. Perhaps you should work on your reading ability before trying to insult others.
But I am glad you posted that link because it proves my earlier point about the hospital being right to question these guys further due to all the Nazis within their ranks.

 

[braindrain]

Then its time you brief your hospitals how things work.

No I don’t think it is. Groups with major nazi problems should have extra scrutiny.

 

[Fledermaus]

Wrong. As you might read in the article, our soldiers will not show their ID cards in the future. Same procedure as now, only difference is, that our embassy gets informed.

That said, those are the military rules. Your country should teach institutions near training areas those basic rules.

Failure to identify oneself is cause to be arrested....

And why would MILITARY "teach" the civilian institutions anything?

 

[Fledermaus]

Then its time you brief your hospitals how things work.

No, it isn't.

Your ignorance about the Military / Civilian interactions is noted.

 

[Tigerace117]

How pathetic from USA to not even know the normal procedures of training. German troops are stationed in the USA and do training there and apparantly some idiots in local institutions are unable to understand normal protocoll.

No, German soldiers dont have to show ID cards to local authorities in the countries they are stationed at. For that the NATO papers are used. KSK members dont have to reveal their ID do commoners of a foreign country. Its a elite unit and their members
depend on secrecy. So this article is misleading. From now on the German Army will inform the german embassy in Washington, so the embassy can aswer whenever idiots call again.

German special forces mistaken for terrorists after training mix-up in Arizona

Soldiers refused to show their IDs at a local hospital and produced Nato orders instead, which set off a series of alerts

www.telegraph.co.uk

German special forces soldiers on a training mission in the US nearly caused a diplomatic incident earlier this month, it has emerged.

The German unit’s insistence on secrecy went badly wrong when a local hospital contacted the FBI over fears they could be extremists planning a terror attack.

Germany’s Special Forces Command (KSK) holds regular freefall parachute training in the small Arizona town of Eloy, just south of Phoenix, because of the clear weather conditions.

The training takes place with the agreement of the US authorities and the German army has posted several videos from previous years on social media.

But the fact the training is not a top secret mission does not appear to have fully registered with two of the special forces soldiers.

The soldiers in question were sent to the local hospital to inquire about medical facilities in the event any member of the unit was injured. But when they were asked to show their IDs they refused and instead produced Nato movement orders, which alarmed the hospital staff.

Given that Germany literally just had to disbanded a special forces unit for planning to commit terrorist attacks......one could understand their concerns.

German special forces company dissolved – DW – 07/30/2020

The Defense Ministry has officially dismantled a company of the German army's elite Special Commando Forces after several far-right incidents. If further scandals resurface, the KSK could be completely dissolved.

www.dw.com

”MAD noted that 20 of the suspected right-wing extremism cases currently being processed were within the KSK. In relation to the number of personnel, this was five times the proportion in the rest of the Bundeswehr.”

 

[HenryChinaski]

Idk i guess Arizona is kinda a backwater

"backwoods"

 

[Peter]

To be fair to the locals here they may have never had contact with foreign armed forces before let alone special forces.
I doubt the protocols of how to deal with them is something regular medical personel are likely to need so at a time like this when they're already extremely busy it's not all that amazing that mistakes can be made.
US special forces are stationed in the UK all the time and I bet mistakes like this crop up often but we don't hear about them because everyone in such cases realises descretion is a good idea.

 

[Higgins86]

That's about as exciting as it gets for the German military. They will probably pin a medal on them for this.

 

[VanceMack]

Meh....so they had the feds called on them. Could be wurst.

 

[Court Jester]

The German unit’s insistence on secrecy went badly wrong when a local hospital contacted the FBI over fears they could be extremists planning a terror attack.

Germany’s Special Forces Command (KSK) holds regular freefall parachute training in the small Arizona town of Eloy, just south of Phoenix, because of the clear weather conditions.

You whine more than sack full of drowning cats.

Some civilians at a hospital contacted the FBI because the were unsure of some people whom they were unaware were German soldiers doing training in the area. It's called "see something say something", and what anyone can do when they are unsure, or suspect possible criminal or terrorist activity. Happens all the time.

But if you Germans are so upset about it, then do your "special forces" training someplace else. Maybe ask the Russians if you can do your training in Russia.