NBC Defense Battalion Kuwait

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Internal association badge of the NBC defense battalion Kuwait

The German NBC Defense Battalion Kuwait was a German military association of the NBC defense force of the Bundeswehr , which was stationed in Kuwait from January 2002 to June 2003 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom .

prehistory

After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in the USA on September 11, 2001 , the USA began the war on terrorism . This also included Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), in which the Federal Republic of Germany and other nations participated. According to the Bundestag resolution of November 16, 2001 on participation in OEF, which Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder had to connect with the vote of confidence , Germany wanted to take part in this operation with around 800 NBC defense forces.

To participate in the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) led by the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) combined Joint Task Force Consequence Management (CJTF-CM), Germany set up the approx. 260 soldiers German NBC Defense Battalion Kuwait and moved it to Kuwait. The battalion's mission was to support the coalition states and the armed forces of the coalition partners in the event of an attack with weapons of mass destruction .

structure

The battalion consisted of:

In Kuwait, the association was also responsible for an NBC reconnaissance train of the US Army with six NBC M93 Fox NBC Reconnaissance System (former NBC "Fuchs" NBC tracer of the Bundeswehr, but with different radios and air conditioning) and their crews.

commitment

The deployment took place in three contingents:

  • 1st contingent, January 2002 to July 2002
  • 2nd contingent, July 2002 to January 2003
  • 3rd quota, January 2003 to June 2003

1st contingent

The 1st contingent was provided by the 7th NBC Defense Battalion in Höxter under the leadership of its commander Michael Oberneyer . The staff was transferred to Kuwait by air from February 10-13, 2002. Material and vehicles were brought by sea to Kuwait, where they arrived on February 16, 2002. The association was stationed in the American camp Doha near the capital Kuwait City , about 60 km from the border with Iraq .

From February 18-21, the battalion participated in a command post exercise, and from March 2-4, 2002 in an operational exercise.

In mid-March 2002 about 190 workers returned to Germany, where they remained on standby. Only about 60 soldiers remained in Kuwait, where they formed an Initial Reaction Capability (IRC).

The Initial Reaction Capability consisted of management, police, telecommunications and supply personnel for:

  • two ABC-armored vehicles "Fuchs" (for A / C reconnaissance),
  • a B sampling equipment (for B reconnaissance) and
  • two troop decontamination vehicles (for decontamination).

This enabled three detection orders and any necessary decontamination to be ensured every 24 hours.

2nd contingent

The 2nd contingent was provided by the 750 NBC Defense Battalion in Bruchsal . At the beginning of July 2002 the 2nd contingent replaced the forces of the 1st contingent in Kuwait. After the replacement, however, only the forces of the Initial Reaction Capability , approx. 60 soldiers, remained in Kuwait.

3rd contingent

The 3rd contingent was again provided by the 7th NBC Defense Battalion in Höxter. At the beginning of January 2003, the 3rd contingent replaced the forces of the 2nd contingent in Kuwait. After the detachment, only the 59 soldiers of the Initial Reaction Capability remained on the spot.

At the beginning of March 2003, in the course of the looming Third Gulf War , Operation Iraqi Freedom , the "Initial Reaction Capability" of the 3rd contingent was increased by around 30 forces. On March 21, 2003, one day after the start of the campaign , another 120 forces of the ORF (Offensive Reserve Force) followed. The German NBC Defense Battalion Kuwait had thus achieved full operational capability again .

Since Iraq also fired rockets at Kuwait in the course of the fighting, the association was used to detect chemical warfare agents immediately after the start of the war. In Iraq, however, the NBC defense forces were not used.

On April 15, 2003, Defense Minister Peter Struck visited the association in Kuwait.

With the end of the main fighting against Iraq, the withdrawal of the battalion began. On May 6, 2003 about 130 troops returned from Kuwait, the last 60 soldiers reached Germany on July 1, 2003.

coat of arms

The association's coat of arms shows in the lower field the shining sun (yellow) in the sky (light blue) over the Arabian desert (also yellow) and the Persian Gulf (blue). In the upper right field there are two yellow retorts , the military symbol of the NBC defense force , on a burgundy background ( bordeaux red is the weapon color of the NBC defense force) . In the upper left field there is a reference to the coat of arms of the Combined Joint Task Force Consequence Management (CJTF-CM), namely an eagle on a silver background (the heraldic animal of the USA ) with a heraldic shield with the US national flag in its claws.

Web links

literature

  • Bernhard Chiari / Magnus Pahl (ed.): Guide to history. Foreign missions of the Bundeswehr. On behalf of the Military History Research Office . Schöningh, Paderborn, 2010.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Oberneyer: New commander for the Weber barracks: Roelof Billmann replaces Michael Oberneyer. In: New Westphalian . Stayed here, August 10, 2004, accessed on May 1, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Chiari / Pahl: Guide to history: Foreign deployments of the Bundeswehr, p. 243