Ammunition misappropriated: new KSK scandal is said to have consequences

Monday, February 22, 2021

Misappropriated ammunition
New KSK scandal should have consequences

The Bundeswehr elite unit Command Special Forces (KSK) causes another scandal. As is now known, the ammunition stolen or misappropriated in the KSK could be returned with no penalty. An "amnesty" that apparently has no legal basis. Now there should be consequences.

The Bundeswehr wants to draw conclusions from new irregularities in the handling of ammunition in the elite special forces command (KSK). "The army's investigations are about to be completed," said a spokesman for the Defense Ministry in Berlin when asked. According to information from the German Press Agency, the first personnel consequences can be expected on Monday or Tuesday at the latest.

New irregularities had become known in the trial against a KSK soldier in Saxony, in which a weapon hiding place with stolen ammunition and explosives had been discovered. The subject of the trial was that ammunition that had been stolen or misappropriated at the KSK in the past year could be returned with impunity. Several media outlets reported an "amnesty" for missing ammunition.

In the military, a responsibility of the KSK commander, Brigadier General Markus Kreitmayr, is being investigated. The officer should be heard immediately. His superior in terms of service is Major General Andreas Hannemann, commander of the Rapid Forces division. It is not publicly clear when and how the Ministry of Defense was informed of the new case. The KSK has made headlines several times in recent years, dealing with cases of extremism and missing ammunition.