Army Reconnaissance Detachment 10

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Army Reconnaissance Detachment 10
(AAD 10)

Badge of the AAD 10
active 2004 until today
Country Switzerland
Armed forces Swiss Army
Type Special unit
Strength Secret (~ 40-100)
Insinuation Special Forces Command (KSK)
LAUF lightweight reconnaissance and support vehicle
Parachute specialists

The Army Reconnaissance Detachement 10 , AAD 10 for short (French: Détachement de reconnaissance de l'armée 10 , DRA 10 for short ; Italian: Distaccamento d'esplorazione dell'esercito 10 , DEE 10 for short ) is a special unit of the Swiss Army founded in 2004 with a Strength of around 90 soldiers. As a professional formation, the elite unit is a core component of the Special Forces Command (KSK) .

Mission and mission profile

The unit has the following application profiles:

  • Obtaining key information
  • Protection of troops, persons and facilities in the event of an increased risk situation
  • Repatriation of Swiss citizens from crisis situations abroad
  • Offensive actions in the context of area security and defense

As part of the Special Forces Command (KSK) , the Federal Council's strategic task force for crises abroad, the AAD 10 is geared towards deployments abroad in an environment without state structures. His duties include: intelligence gathering; Protection of people, things and objects; Rescue, rescue and repatriation of people; Security advice and military assistance.

The missions abroad, which are subject to the political control of the security policy and foreign policy commissions of the Federal Assembly and about which, as a rule, is not publicly informed for security reasons, have already led to speculation in the media.

organization

The AAD 10 has the following infiltration techniques:

  • Specialists for operations in the mountains
  • Specialists in amphibious missions
  • Parachute specialists
  • Specialists in the use of motorized means

Recruitment and training

The fulfillment of the above-mentioned tasks requires the members of the Army Reconnaissance Detachment to be physically and mentally above average. Therefore future members of the AAD are subjected to a strict and multi-stage selection process. The candidates are examined in detail for their physical, mental and intellectual performance.

Preselection

Here the candidate has to pass a two-day sports test in the following disciplines, all of which are very detailed.

The following services are the minimum (B classification):

  • Pull-ups : The candidate must do 10 pull-ups without interruption within 2 minutes.
  • Trunk bends : The candidate must perform 60 trunk bends within 2 minutes without interruption.
  • Push-ups : The candidate must perform 50 non-stop push-ups within 2 minutes.
  • 5 km cross-country run : The contender must cover a distance of 5 km within 24 minutes in sportswear.
  • 8 km express march : The candidate must cover a distance of 8 km within 58 minutes in camouflage suit, combat boots and with 15 kg of luggage.
  • 25 km express march : The candidate must cover a distance of 25 km within 3.5 hours in camouflage suit, combat boots and with 25 kg of luggage.
  • Swimming : The candidate must swim a distance of 300 m within 10 minutes.

These disciplines are rated according to three categories:

A = does not meet the basic requirements. B = Meets the basic requirements. C = Clearly exceeds the basic requirements.

selection

Even if the candidate masters these tests well or above average, that does not mean that he is accepted into the AAD 10. After 3–4 months, there is a 3-week selection course (shortlist) in which the candidates are intensively tested in all performance areas (physical, personality, motivation, etc.). Should the candidate also pass this selection, he can now sign a contract with a trial period, with which he officially becomes a member of the Army Reconnaissance Detachment 10.

education

The training to become an army reconnaissance officer takes about 18 months, with the basic training being completed after about 40 weeks. The specialist and platoon training is carried out after the basic training in accordance with the operational needs and suitability of the respective members of the army reconnaissance detachment.

In addition to practical training in a wide variety of operational techniques, great value is also placed on further training in the area of ​​language, tactics, communication and legal knowledge, etc.

The training also takes place in cooperation with foreign partners. Corresponding contracts exist with Belgium, Germany, Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, Norway, Austria, Sweden and the Ukraine.

However, there is no bilateral training with American forces. However, there are indications (the exact training plans are classified as SECRET) that individual training units are led by foreign special forces instructors from the US Navy Seals , US Special Forces and the UK Special Air Service (SAS) .

equipment

The standard equipment of the AAD 10 includes the SIG SG 553 SB and SIG 553 LB assault rifle with various tactical sights , the Sako TRG-42 sniper rifle with the 3-12x50 PMII telescopic sight , the MP5SD3 and MP14 submachine gun from B&T, the Glock 17 and pistols Glock 26 , knee protection, kevlar helmet, fragmentation vest , underwater computers and transmission devices , powerful reconnaissance equipment and the AGF SERVAL emergency vehicle . The unit also has Benelli shotguns, SIG-751-SAPR precision rifles and the LMg05.

history

The special unit was provided for in the report on the conception of Army XXI of October 24, 2001 (Army Mission Statement XXI) and according to the regulation on the deployment of troops for the protection of people and property abroad in 2004 under the command of Major Daniel Stoll based on the model of British Special Air Service (SAS) formed.

In 2010, parliament brought together all tactical and strategic resources of the Federal Council for crises abroad under the Special Forces Command (KSK) . A year later, the AAD 10 had reached its target population of 91 elite soldiers. In 2018, the elite unit was increased by eleven due to the tense international situation. The expert Bruno Lezzi assumed that the protection of Swiss embassies abroad would require more staff.

During a cyber attack attributed to the Russian Federation at the end of 2014, unknown persons broke into RUAG's computers . They gained access to data from the Department of Defense and obtained secret documents on AAD 10, presumably including the identities of the soldiers in the unit.

criticism

The Federal Council often had to justify its special unit. The right part of the political spectrum saw the principle of neutrality of Switzerland and / or its independence through the supposed cooperation with NATO in danger through the foreign missions. In the left party landscape, concerns arose that the AAD 10 (domestically) could be used against politically unpleasant (left) people. Politically so-called “unholy alliances” between the two in Parliament regularly ended in fundamental debates and occasionally prevented an operation for which the AAD 10 would actually have been suitable and ready. There were also media outlets trying to capitalize on the secrecy of his activities. As early as 2006, the Swiss weekly magazine Die Weltwoche suspected , a fear that was not shared by the DDPS , due to the training cooperation with foreign contract partners ( see above ): “ Further secret steps on the way to total cooperation with foreign armies . "

Calls

The Federal Council was reprimanded by parliament for the deployment of the specialists from AAD 10 with 30 men to protect the embassy in Tehran in 2006 because it had not been informed in good time. The Army Reconnaissance Detachment 10 (AAD 10) was officially operational on 16 August 2007 and took in the same year as part of the Partnership for Peace (Switzerland is a member since 1996) in the multinational NATO - Exercise Cold Response 2007 in Norway participate. In 2009, alternative plans by AAD 10 to free the hostage Max Göldi from his Libyan captivity were well advanced, but were not put into effect by the Federal Council. In the same year, the Federal Council's intention to use AAD 10 against Somali pirates did not find a parliamentary majority.

In 2012, a detachment from AAD 10 replaced the controversial private mercenary company Aegis , which was guarding the Swiss embassy in Tripoli until 2014. An analogous deployment in Kosovo was not denied by the Federal Council. A year later, the National Councilors Lukas Reimann (via the tabloid Blick ) and Geri Müller (in Question Time of the National Council) believed they had information about a military deployment of the AAD 10 in Mali that was not approved by parliament . The Federal Council denied the presence of AAD 10 in Mali in both cases.

In 2020 it became public that the Federal Council was considering protecting development workers from the Directorate for Development and Cooperation in Afghanistan with Swiss special forces.

literature

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ formally or informally coordinated, joint voting behavior of politically different parliamentary groups with usually strongly diverging positions in parliamentary votes which they cannot individually decide for themselves.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Colonel i Gst Christoph Fehr: Special Forces Command , General Swiss Military Magazine , issue 06, 2018.
  2. ^ The Federal Council : Special Forces Command , publication of the Swiss Army . Accessed: May 20, 2019.
  3. ^ Security Policy Commissions SIK of the Federal Assembly, accessed: 19 May 2019.
  4. ↑ Foreign policy commissions APK of the Federal Assembly, accessed: May 19, 2919.
  5. ↑ a b Article: AAD 10 - Licht ins Dunkel: the basics of the army's reconnaissance detachment are known , Schweizer Soldat , Volume 81, Issue 11, 2006.
  6. ↑ a b c Urs Paul Engeler , Heinrich L. Wirz: Los Rambolinos , Die Weltwoche , issue No. 35.06, page 8 ff, MP3 podcast ( Memento from August 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ^ The Federal Assembly: Conception of the Army XXI (Army Leitbild XXI) , report of October 24, 2001.
  8. ↑ The Federal Council: Ordinance on the deployment of troops for the protection of people and property abroad , June 1, 2006.
  9. ↑ Rambos are not in demand. Elite troops of the Swiss Armed Forces are particularly present in the headlines. In: NZZ. June 24, 2010, accessed August 26, 2014 .
  10. ↑ Army Reconnaissance Detachment 10 is ready for action. (No longer available online.) August 16, 2007, archived from the original on December 6, 2014 ; Retrieved August 26, 2014 .
  11. ↑ Dominik Meier: Elite troop AAD 10 - reinforcement for special unit , contribution from Swiss radio and television , December 17, 2018.
  12. ↑ Bruno Lezzi: Expansion of the AAD 10 elite unit - just getting into the shortlist is difficult , interview with Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen , December 17, 2018.
  13. ↑ teletext News domestic: Does data theft also affect AAD 10 at Ruag? , Admeira , May 8, 2016.
  14. ↑ Stefan Bühler, Andreas Schmid: Russian hackers expose secret Swiss elite troops , NZZ of May 8, 2016.
  15. ↑ Eric Gujer: Abolition of the army elite troops is not an issue , Neue Zürcher Zeitung , June 24, 2010.
  16. ↑ Peter Forster: Insight into an Elite: Honorable, Modest, United , Giardino Group , March 22, 2012.
  17. ^ The Federal Assembly: Commission makes changes , media release of October 13, 2010.
  18. ↑ Article: «Army Reconnaissance Detachment 10» , weekly newspaper Zeit -fragen , January 17, 2009.
  19. ^ Announcement: Increased protection for the Swiss embassy in Tehran , swissinfo.ch , October 8, 2006.
  20. ↑ Article: Death threats at the Swiss embassy , Basellandschaftliche Zeitung , September 13, 2010.
  21. ↑ Peter Siegenthaler: Swiss elite soldiers before deployment in Tripoli , report by SWI swissinfo.ch, January 11, 2012.
  22. ^ SRG SSR: New elite armed forces in action , SWI swissinfo.ch report, November 22, 2007.
  23. ↑ The Federal Council: Members of the Swiss armed forces in the multinational exercise "Cold Response 07" , media release, March 5, 2007.
  24. ^ Heidi Gmür: Swiss Army in Civilian Clothing in Libya , Neue Zürcher Zeitung , September 19, 2010.
  25. ^ Short trial with “Atalanta” , report from Neue Zürcher Zeitung , September 22, 2009.
  26. ↑ Carlos Hanimann: No pull-ups for Calmy Rey , WOZ Die Wochenzeitung , August 27, 2009.
  27. ↑ The Federal Assembly: Army deployment to protect the Swiss embassy in Tripoli , interpellation of the Swiss People's Party, March 16, 2012.
  28. ↑ Martin Sturzenegger: «I saw pictures of this mission». As SVP National Councilor Lukas Reimann claims to have found out from a “safe source”, the Swiss elite unit AAD 10 was deployed in Mali. The DDPS vehemently denies this. In: TagesAnzeiger. March 6, 2013, accessed January 26, 2014 .
  29. ↑ Philipp Loser: secret mission in Mali - bricklayers denied. In a brief sentence, Federal Councilor Ueli Maurer denied a deployment by the Swiss Army in Mali during Question Time from the National Council. In: TagesWoche. March 11, 2013, accessed January 26, 2014 .
  30. ↑ Georg Häsler Sansano: Swiss soldiers should protect development workers in Afghanistan - Bern relies on the army instead of mercenaries , Neue Zürcher Zeitung , April 22, 2020.