Task Force Cobra

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Unit badge of the Task Force Cobra

The Einsatzkommando Cobra ( EKO-Cobra for short ; colloquially just the Cobra ) is the most important special police unit in Austria . It is part of the Directorate for Special Forces , which reports directly to the Directorate General for Public Security at the Federal Ministry of the Interior . The legal basis for the existence of the EKO-Cobra is the Ordinance on Special Units of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, with which the provisions of the Security Police Act are implemented.

The special unit has its headquarters and training facilities in Wiener Neustadt . In addition, there are Cobra locations in the federal capital Vienna , in Graz , Linz and Innsbruck as well as further branch offices in Salzburg , Klagenfurt and Feldkirch .

The task force consists of around 670 people (as of 2013), including two women. In 2018, the special unit carried out 911 operational offender situations, 1,838 personal protection missions and several thousand air traffic control personnel. The total number of uses of the EKO-Cobra in 2009 was around 3700. The firearm was only used four times during the same period: once as a blank fire and three times to prevent gas cylinders from exploding in the event of a fire by firing them have been perforated. Accordingly, there were no targeted shots at people by EKO-Cobra officials in 2009.

assignment

EKO-Cobra officials at an abseiling demonstration
Use with a helicopter of the Austrian flight police

As a special unit, the EKO-Cobra is responsible for operations with an increased to very high degree of danger. These include, in particular, armed hostage-taking, operations to arrest dangerous violent criminals and against organized crime. Operations to combat terrorism on Austrian territory are also part of the task area of ​​the task force.

In addition, less operative missions, such as the personal protection of high-ranking politicians and other endangered persons and institutions, are part of the EKO-Cobra's program of operations. In addition, EKO-Cobra officials provide security and escort services on board aircraft of Austrian airlines under the designation “ Air Marshals ”. The EKO-Cobra is also responsible for guarding cash transports for the Austrian National Bank .

"It is incumbent on the EKO-Cobra, in direct subordination to the General Director for Public Security,
to put an end to 1. dangerous attacks if, because of the coercive force required against people or things, specially trained public security officers with special training are required and such organs are not or insufficiently available at local or regional level;
2. to ensure preventive protection in accordance with Section 22 (1) 2 and 3 DDA in the event of an increased risk situation;
3. to exercise the security service on board Austrian civil aircraft as well as in the context of diplomatic missions. "

- § 5 Ordinance on Special Units

These functions were defined in 1993 by the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Section 5 of the Ordinance on Special Units as a supplement to the existing Security Police Act. Numbers 2 and 3 of Section 22 (1) DDA mentioned in point 2 deal with the preventive protection of legal interests, specifically in number 2 the protection of constitutional institutions and their capacity to act, and in number 3 the protection of representatives of foreign states, international organizations and others Subjects of international law . In the event of an increased risk situation, the EKO-Cobra is therefore also responsible for protecting the federal government , the state governments , the national and federal council , the constitutional court and foreign diplomats.

Internal organization

Locations and areas of application of the EKO-Cobra

Since June 1, 2013, the Task Force Cobra as part of the organizational unit Task Force Cobra / Directorate for Special Forces (EKO Cobra / DSE) reports directly to the General Directorate for Public Safety. Like the DSE, the Cobra Task Force has its headquarters and the so-called staff unit in Wiener Neustadt . There, all administrative tasks for the special unit are processed nationwide and new Cobra members are trained. There are also four other locations in Vienna , Graz , Linz and Innsbruck , with the last three still connected to the operational branches in Klagenfurt , Salzburg and Feldkirch . The Burgenland , has this as the only state not have its own Cobra site is also partially covered mostly by the headquarters in Wiener Neustadt in southern Burgenland from Graz, from surgically.

In general, four deployment modules (i.e. fully operational deployment teams) are stationed at each location; there are two deployment modules at each of the branch offices. The regionalization has primarily personnel advantages for the task force Cobra. The fluctuation of the approx. 450 strong unit decreased from 20% to 5% p. a. In addition, it was possible to achieve the goal of being able to deploy a Cobra team at any point in Austria within 70 minutes of being alerted.

history

Historical badge of the Einsatzkommando Cobra

Gendarmerie Command Bad Vöslau

In 1972, officials from the traffic department of the Lower Austria State Gendarmerie Command began protecting the Jewish emigrants arriving from the USSR from the Vienna Ostbahnhof via the emigrant camp in Schönau Castle in the Baden district until they took off with the El Al airline from Vienna Schwechat airport towards Israel .

The increasing number of emigrants prompted the General Directorate for Public Security on May 1, 1973 to set up a small special unit, the Bad Vöslau Gendarmerie Command , whose exclusive task was to secure the transports and the emigre camp.

If Austria had been spared the terror up until then , the - bloodlessly ending - hostage-taking in Marchegg by two heavily armed Palestinian terrorists from the terrorist organization " El Saika " (Eagle of the Revolution) on September 28, 1973 at the Marchegg border station shocked the nation and the responsible authorities . As a result, security was extended to the Marchegg and Hohenau border stations . The associated increase in staff made the temporary move to Schönau Castle necessary, which took place on December 18, 1973.

Gendarmerie Escort Command Vienna

On September 1, 1974, what was now the Vienna Gendarmerie Escort Command moved from Schönau to the Burstyn barracks of the Armed Forces in Zwölfaxing and from then on was directly subordinate to the General Directorate for Public Security in the Federal Ministry of the Interior.

The main task was essentially accompanying the trains coming from Marchegg and Hohenau to Vienna from the USSR, as well as occasional security tasks at the Vienna-Schwechat airport.

Gendarmerie task force "Cobra"

Historical distinctions of the EKO-Cobra, assigned and duty officers, from right to left: Revierinspektor - group inspector / E2b - district inspector - department inspector - control inspector - chief inspector / FGr. 6 - Chief Inspector / FGr. 7th
Historical distinctions of the EKO-Cobra, senior officials, from right to left: Captain - Major - Lieutenant Colonel - Colonel / FGr. 7 - Colonel / FGr. 8 - Brigadier

The kidnapping and subsequent murder of the German employer president Hanns Martin Schleyer by the Red Army parliamentary group in the autumn of 1977 as well as the associated hijacking of the Lufthansa plane “Landshut” to Mogadishu gave the government and then Interior Minister Erwin Lanc the impetus to present a comprehensive concept.

The measures already taken by the Vienna Gendarmerie Accompanying Command should be reinforced with the creation of the "Gendarmerie Einsatzkommandos (GEK)" with an initial staff of 127 officials. The Gendarmerie Einsatzkommando was officially installed on January 1, 1978, and on February 14, 1978, it moved into Schönau Castle again.

The newly created GEK had its first hostage mission on June 16, 1980 in Graz. The 35-year-old Josef L. had broken into the ordination of a dermatologist armed with a rifle and had taken 23 hostages. Since the perpetrator made confused and in some cases unfulfillable demands (negotiations with the Yugoslav Consul General, interview with camera teams from eight nations, etc.), the police opted for “delaying tactics” in order to tire the hostage-taker. The next day, two hostages tried to overpower the perpetrator single-handedly, but were repulsed by him, whereupon he fired a shot and injured one hostage. The GEK then stormed the ordination and shot the perpetrator. During this operation, the first deficiencies in the unit were also discovered. Among other things, the Graz police and the GEK radioed on different frequencies. It also took hours to get night binoculars.

On November 26, 1987, the 22-year-old GEK officer Rupert Stubauer died while on surveillance duty in Schönau when he was accidentally shot by a colleague who had improperly handled his weapon.

In recognition of the services and methods of the officials, journalists gave the GEK the nickname Cobra , based on the television series " Kobra, take over ". The rapid colloquial use of "Cobra" as a synonym for the GEK led to the early inclusion of a cobra in the uniform badge.

Personnel and technical requirements led to the construction of a new training and operations center in Wiener Neustadt , which was officially put into operation on the 1992 national holiday .

The Cobra is still the only anti-terrorist unit in the world that has ended an aircraft hijacking while still in the air. On October 17, 1996 four GEK gendarmes were on board a Tupolev Tu-154 of the Russian airline Aeroflot on its flight from Malta to Lagos to accompany deportation detainees when they were deported to their homeland when a Nigerian saw the cockpit crew with a drop knife threatened and demanded not to fly to Nigeria, but to South Africa or Germany. The four specialists of the Austrian gendarmerie task force equipped with special weapons and gloves overpowered the perpetrator during the flight. The kidnapper was handcuffed by the gendarmes after landing and handed over to the authorities. The officials thereupon also received a medal from the then Prime Minister and later Russian President Vladimir Putin .

On November 14, 1996, the GEK ended a hostage-taking in a prison for the first and so far only time. Three felons imprisoned in the Graz-Karlau prison had seriously injured two judicial officers, took three women hostage and called for a helicopter. After nine hours of negotiations, the officers of the gendarmerie task force succeeded in overpowering the perpetrators and freeing the hostages.

On August 7, 1997, the 29-year-old GEK officer Harald Ripfl drowned during a diving exercise in a swimming pool.

According to the media, the GEK at that time had 3,000 missions per year, but in the GEK times nothing of this was usually made public, only with the reclassification to the EKO-Cobra is an increased media presence of the unit noticeable.

Task Force Cobra

Demonstration of the EKO Cobra on the national holiday 2012

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 , there was a global evaluation of existing security measures. The working group set up by Interior Minister Ernst Strasser came to the conclusion that, despite the 23 special units of the Austrian security executive that existed at the time, there were a number of inadequacies. These included, among other things, the too long journeys to the GEK, the many different and decentralized management levels, the limited local responsibility of the individual units and the lack of continuous case processing competence for the MEK or the SEG.

The resolved reform of the special units system envisaged the integration of the mobile task forces and the special task groups into the existing gendarmerie task force. This newly formed all-Austrian special unit was set up under the name Einsatzkommando Cobra . Initially, four locations and three branch offices were established. As of July 1, 2002, the Wiener Neustadt , Graz , Linz and Innsbruck locations were installed. The Salzburg , Klagenfurt and Feldkirch branch offices followed on January 1, 2003. On July 1, 2005, the Vienna location was installed in the Rossau barracks , with the involvement of the WEGA police force (PEK) .

On July 14, 2004, EKO-Cobra officials arrested one of Turkey's most dangerous mafia godfathers on the southern motorway in Styria. Alaettin C., already wanted with an international arrest warrant, who is said to have commissioned at least seven murders as well as countless robberies and frauds, was on her way to a vacation in Carinthia and was so surprised by his arrest that he was immediately arrested, despite the false papers he had with him revealed his true identity and offered no resistance.

In the course of the Lebanon War , five officers from the Task Force Cobra evacuated numerous Austrians, members of other EU states and other countries from Lebanon via Syria between July 15 and July 23, 2006 .

On October 21, 2008, a Corvus Phantom light aircraft flying from Haßfurt in the direction of Hungary crashed with two occupants on the roof of the EKO-Cobra headquarters in Wiener Neustadt, after the pilot was looking for an emergency landing area and the radio mast was lit with the lights of the nearby located at the military airfield Wiener Neustadt / West . The building of the EKO-Cobra was badly damaged by the impact and the subsequent fire in the roof area. While both aircraft occupants were killed, the task force had no victims to complain about.

The EKO-Cobra as part of the DSE

Since April 1, 2013, the Cobra Task Force has been part of the Directorate for Special Forces (DSE). This brought together the special police forces that had previously worked nationwide in Austria, namely the supraregional observation units (OBS), the disarming service (ESD), the operative personal protection (PS) and the observation technology. The EKO Cobra / DSE is based at the headquarters of the task force in Wiener Neustadt and reports directly to the General Director for Public Safety.

On September 17, 2013, a poacher shot and killed an EKO-Cobra officer during a multiple murder in Annaberg . As a result, a paramedic and two other police officers who came to the rescue were murdered. During the subsequent storm and secured search of the farm in Großpriel , where the perpetrator holed up, armored vehicles of the armed forces and a special armored vehicle from WEGA were used.

In November 2014, EKO-Cobra officials carried out large raids across Austria against radical Islamists in a total of over 40 apartments and prayer rooms as part of Operation Palmyra . 13 suspects were arrested, including suspected leaders in the financing network of the terrorist group Islamic State . More than 900 police officers have been deployed across Austria in this largest anti-terrorist operation by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Combating Terrorism .

As part of the police operation in the attack in Munich in July 2016, 42 Austrian officers from the EKO-Cobra were directly on duty in Munich to support the German federal and Bavarian state police forces.

From June 30, 2017, 200 Austrian police officers, including 20 Cobra officers, supported the German police as part of the G20 summit in Hamburg .

Recruitment and training

Target exercise during an operational training

The members of the EKO-Cobra are not recruited by the special unit itself, but have to apply to it for admission. In principle, any police officer of the Austrian Federal Police is free to apply, regardless of the gender or age of the applicant. After an initial selection based on the application documents, a series of medical, psychological and motor skills tests are carried out for the remaining applicants. Only those who pass these aptitude tests are admitted to the training.

Since 2005 there has been a new, more stringent selection process for the elite unit. The candidates must pass four KO exams, among other things. Failure to do any of these exercises will result in exclusion from the selection process. Candidates have to climb a three meter long rope without using their legs. The second exercise is the so-called belly lift. The candidate has to hang in the wall bars and touch a medicine ball above his head with his feet. In the third exercise, the difference between the third and fifth floors of the climbing tower only has to be overcome within five minutes using a narrow steel rope ladder. Finally, the candidates still have to walk a pool length with their hands tied.

Once the selection process has been passed, the candidates for basic training are brought to the training and operations center in Wiener Neustadt for a six-month course. This training includes courses in tactical procedures, shooting training , sports, driving technique courses, as well as further courses in rope technique, close combat and other subjects.

In addition, the budding officers of the EKO-Cobra can also be trained in a special skill. These include skydiving , diving , blasting technology and training as a precision marksman .

Since the official introduction of the Cobra in 1978, more than 1140 police officers have undergone this special training and have thus become members of the special unit. So far, only three women have made it into the unit. In spring 2011, an initiative was therefore started to increase the number of female members.

equipment

Historical combat clothing of the EKO-Cobra

Uniforms and distinctions

Members of the EKO-Cobra are the only group allowed to wear the beret with their representative uniform. This wine-red beret also distinguishes the fully trained members of the task force and is ceremoniously awarded after successfully passing all entrance exams. Instead of the national coat of arms, the coat of arms of the EKO-Cobra, which is attached to the left sleeve, acts as a corps badge. The historical distinctions that could be used until December 31, 2007 corresponded to the former Federal Gendarmerie, but the fabric color was black and the strands were on a black background. It is noteworthy that at the time of the gendarmerie task force the officers of the unit used distinctions of the Austrian Armed Forces .

As a rule, the officers of the EKO-Cobra wear anthracite-colored or black overalls as well as leather gloves and combat boots. When performing public services, the wine-red beret is worn as well as with the representative uniform. During emergency operations, this headgear is usually replaced by a balaclava and a protective helmet.

Equipment

When deployed, the officers of the task force usually wear a variety of protective clothing on their bodies in addition to their weapons . These include heavy bullet-resistant vests made of Kevlar and ceramic , characteristic helmets with camouflage patterns, and arm, leg and back protectors.

Armament

Standard primary weapon StG 77
Standard secondary weapon Glock 17

At the Einsatzkommando Cobra, different primary weapons are used today, depending on the situation, but mostly it is the assault rifle 77 (StG 77, also Steyr AUG), which is also used by the Austrian armed forces . Variants of the MP5 and MP7 are also used. Snipers use the Steyr SSG 69 or Steyr Elite sniper rifles as precision long weapons, and PGM Hécate II rifles in .50 BMG caliber can also be used. In small numbers, the EKO-Cobra is still equipped with Blaser R93 Tactical precision rifles and Steyr CISM in .308 Winchester caliber . Since January 2009 the precision shooters of the EKO-Cobra have had the new Steyr SSG 08 in cal. .308. The Steyr CISM and the Steyr SSG 69 that were still used at the EKO-Cobra base in Vienna were thus replaced. The Glock 17 pistol is usually used as the standard secondary weapon . If necessary, the officers can also use tonfa batons, pepper spray and tasers .

In the past only weapons from the Austrian Federal Gendarmerie were used. The FN Browning HP was used as a service pistol . A revolver of the type Manurhin MR 73 in caliber .357 is still rarely used for firing plastic ammunition for training purposes. In addition, several types of the American M1 carbine were still in use, as well as variants of the Uzi submachine gun from Belgian license production, which was replaced by the Steyr MP 69 submachine gun . This in turn was replaced by the MP Steyr TMP , which is used today for diving missions. Shotguns of the Remington 870 , Remington 11-87 and Heckler & Koch HK 502 types are still used today, e.g. B. to open doors or to ward off attack dogs.

vehicles

After the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo editorial team in Paris in January 2015, a procurement package was put together under the then Minister of the Interior, Johanna Mikl-Leitner , which, in addition to new weapons, helmets and fragmentation vests, also included 16 armored personnel carriers of the type PMV Survivor II from Franz Achleitner Fahrzeugbau und Tire Center includes. Delivery started at the end of 2016.

literature

  • Markus Gollner: Speed ​​Action Surprise - The COBRA task force . Action Unlimited, Ebreichsdorf 2008, ISBN 978-3-200-01101-4 .
  • Wolfgang Bachler, Peter Gnaiger: The Cobra Principle. Fast. Flexible. Effectively. Ecowin Verlag, Salzburg 2004, ISBN 3-902404-06-X .
  • Wolfdieter Hufnagl: The Gendarmerie Einsatzkommando GEK . Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-613-02248-6 .
  • Wolfdieter Hufnagl: Special units of the Austrian police and gendarmerie . Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-613-01941-8 .

Web links

Commons : Einsatzkommando Cobra  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Official statistics of the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
  2. ↑ Viktoria Preinig: Ten missions a day (PDF; 116 kB) . Article in the Public Safety magazine (March / April 2010 issue).
  3. ↑ Ulrike Michel: From GEK to EKO Cobra / DSE . Article in the public safety magazine (September / October 2013 issue).
  4. ↑ Reinhard Olt : Cobra, take over! Article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung from April 8, 2008.
  5. ↑ Thomas Riegler: FROM "GENDARMERIEKOMMANDO BAD VÖSLAU" TO "COBRA": BUILDING UP THE AUSTRIAN ANTITERROR FORCES. In: JIPPS Vol.7, 1/2013, pages 116-138, accessed at bmi.gv.at. January 2013, accessed on September 28, 2019 (German).
  6. ↑ Hans Breitegger: The Cobra has been biting for 30 years ( memento from August 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive ). Article in the Kleine Zeitung on April 9, 2008.
  7. ↑ Miriam Berger: Hero of the day: "In the beginning everyone was scared to death ..." Article in the Arbeiter-Zeitung from June 18, 1980.
  8. ↑ a b 30 years of Cobra - oesterreich.ORF.at. Retrieved September 28, 2019 .
  9. ↑ . :: ODMP ::. Retrieved September 28, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Author thomasriegler: How the "Cobra" became poisonous. In: #Terrorism #News services #Time history. October 29, 2017, accessed on September 28, 2019 (German).
  11. ↑ Safe in the air. (PDF; 150 kB) Article in the Public Safety magazine (September / October 2007 issue).
  12. ^ Anniversary of the Karlau hostage-taking: the consequences to this day. November 14, 2011, accessed September 28, 2019 .
  13. ↑ . :: ODMP ::. Retrieved September 28, 2019 .
  14. ^ Reform of the special forces. (PDF) In: Public Safety. Federal Ministry of the Interior - Austria, 2002, accessed on September 28, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Much wanted mafia boss arrested in Styria. In: derStandard.at. Retrieved September 28, 2019 (Austrian German).
  16. ↑ Police ambushed mafia bosses: Dangerous godfather on the journey in. News networld Internet service GmbH, October 4, 2004, accessed on September 28, 2019 .
  17. ↑ OEJ-Austria-week 01.08.2006-07.08.2006. Retrieved September 28, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Two emergency landings attempted, then the fatal crash . Article in the Main-Post from October 27, 2008.
  19. ↑ Police: New Directorate for Special Forces . Article on DiePresse.com from April 2, 2013.
  20. ↑ Bloodbath: Poacher shoots three policemen and a paramedic . Article on ORF.at from September 18, 2013
  21. ↑ Islamist boss caught in a large-scale terrorist raid . Article on krone.at from November 28, 2014.
  22. ↑ 42 Cobra officials are on duty in Munich. In: DiePresse.com . July 23, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2016 .
  23. ^ Christian Unger, Julia Emmrich: Austrian "Cobra" in action . In: Berliner Morgenpost , July 9, 2017, accessed on July 10, 2017.
  24. ↑ Spiegel TV Special: Task Force Cobra - Training of an elite unit. ( Recorded on YouTube ) TV report, 2006
  25. ↑ 30 years of "Cobra". (PDF; 293 kB) Article in the Public Safety magazine (May / June 2008 issue).
  26. ↑ Elena Scherschneva-Koller: “A worthwhile experience” (PDF; 992 kB). Article in the public safety magazine (September / October 2012 issue).
  27. ^ "Cobra" special unit in search of women. Article on DiePresse.com from January 13, 2011.
  28. ↑ Current & News. In: www.bmi.gv.at. Retrieved November 26, 2016 .
  29. ↑ Police are preparing to counter terrorism . In: DiePresse.com . ( diepresse.com [accessed November 26, 2016]).