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Bundeswehr Cross Of Honour For Valour
The Bundeswehr Cross of Honour for Valour (german: Ehrenkreuz der Bundeswehr für Tapferkeit) is the highest military decoration of the Bundeswehr. It is the highest class of the Bundeswehr Cross of Honour. The decoration is the first combat valour award presented by Germany since World War II. History Since World War II, Germany has seen its military as a defensive force, but during the 1990s Germany began playing a bigger role with its military within the European Union. After the September 11 attacks on the United States, Germany joined ISAF in Afghanistan and has continued to deploy Bundeswehr troops to areas under combat conditions. In 2007, the Petitions Committee of the Bundestag made a recommendation to create a decoration to recognize military personnel for valour. In 2008, Ernst-Reinhard Beck, the president of the German Reservists Association, suggested the reestablishment of the Iron Cross. From its establishment by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1813 until 1945, the I ...
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Bundeswehr
The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consisting of the German Army, the German Navy, the German Air Force, the Joint Support Service, the Joint Medical Service, and the Cyber and Information Domain Service. , the ''Bundeswehr'' had a strength of 183,638 active-duty military personnel and 81,318 civilians, placing it among the 30 largest military forces in the world, and making it the second largest in the European Union behind France. In addition, the ''Bundeswehr'' has approximately 30,050 reserve personnel (2020). With German military expenditures at $56.0 billion, the ''Bundeswehr'' is the seventh highest-funded military in the world, though military expenditures remain relatively average at 1.3% of national GDP, well below the (non-binding) NATO target of 2%. German ...
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Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran border, west, Turkmenistan to the Afghanistan–Turkmenistan border, northwest, Uzbekistan to the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border, north, Tajikistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, northeast, and China to the Afghanistan–China border, northeast and east. Occupying of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains Afghan Turkestan, in the north and Sistan Basin, the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. , Demographics of Afghanistan, its population is 40.2 million (officially estimated to be 32.9 million), composed mostly of ethnic Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks. Kabul is the country's largest city and ser ...
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Kommando Spezialkräfte
The Kommando Spezialkräfte (''Special Forces Command, KSK'') is the special forces military command of the German Army. The KSK has received decorations and awards from NATO, the United States, and its affiliates. KSK operatives have taken part in joint anti-terror operations, notably in the Balkans and Middle East. History From 1973 until the KSK's formation in 1996, the West German (and later German) government assigned all counter-terrorist and special operations activities to the GSG 9, a highly trained police force created shortly after the hostage-taking that transpired during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Prior to 1973, the army's '' Fernspäher'' (Long-Distance Reconnaissance), the navy's '' Kampfschwimmer'' (Combat Swimmers/"Frogmen"), and (until 1989) the ''Special Weapons Escort Companies—Sonderwaffenbegleitkompanien'' were the only military units comparable to anything that other nations may have seen as dedicated special forces units. One political reason for t ...
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Oberstleutnant
() is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish rank is a direct translation, as is the Finnish rank . Austria Austria's armed forces, the ''Bundesheer'', uses the rank Oberstleutnant as its sixth-highest officer rank. Like in Germany and Switzerland, Oberstleutnants are above Majors and below Obersts. The term also finds usage with the Austrian Bundespolizei (federal police force) and Justizwache (prison guards corps). These two organizations are civilian in nature, but their ranks are nonetheless structured in a military fashion. Belgium File:Army-BEL-OF-04.svg, nl-BE, Luitenant-kolonelgerman: Oberstleutnant Denmark The Danish rank of is based around the German term. Ranked OF-4 within NATO and having the paygrade of M401, it is used in the Royal Danish Army and the ...
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Stabsfeldwebel
''Stabsfeldwebel '' (StFw or SF; ) is the second highest Non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force. It is grouped as OR-8 in NATO, equivalent to a First Sergeant in the United States Army, and to Warrant Officer Class 2 in the British Army. Promotion to the rank requires at least twelve years total active duty, of which at least eleven years have elapsed since promotion to ''unteroffizier'', with at least ten years since promotion to ''stabsunteroffizier'', and nine years since promotion to ''feldwebel''. In army/ air force context NCOs of this rank were formally addressed as ''Herr Stabsfeldwebel'' also informally / short ''Staber''. History Austria-Hungary The ranks ''Stabsfeldwebel'', ''Stabsoberjäger'', ''Stabsfeuerwerker'' and ''Stabswachtmeister'' were introduced to the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1913. Germany The rank was introduced in 1938 by the German Army, and was equivalent to the ''Kriegsmarines ''Stabsoberfeldwebel'' grades (''Stab ...
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Hauptgefreiter
Gefreiter (, abbr. Gefr.; plural ''Gefreite'') is a German, Swiss and Austrian military rank that has existed since the 16th century. It is usually the second rank or grade to which an enlisted soldier, airman or sailor could be promoted.Duden; Definition of Gefreiter, in German/ref>Official Website (Bundeswehr): Dienstgrade und Uniformen der Bundeswehr (Service Ranks and Uniforms of the German Federal Defence Forces), in German/ref> Within the combined Ranks and insignia of NATO, NATO rank scale, the modern-day rank of ''Gefreiter'' is usually equivalent to the NATO-standard rank scale OR-2. The word has also been lent into the Russian language (''russian: yefreytor/ефрейтор''), and is in use in several Russian and post-Soviet militaries. History Historically the military rank of ''Gefreiter'' (female and plural form: ''Gefreite'') emerged in 16th-century Europe for the German ''Landsknechte'' foot soldiers,Duden; Origin and meaning of "Landsknecht", in German/ref> p ...
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Stabsgefreiter
''Stabsgefreiter'' (''abbr.'' StGefr, on lists SG) is the second highest rank of enlisted men in the German Bundeswehr, which might be comparable to Corporal (OR-4) in Anglophone armed forces. History In the 19th century German Army the ''Gefreiter'' (plural: ''Gefreite'') always belonged to the rank group of enlisted men (below noncommissioned (NCO) level). However, during training and fatigue duty ''Gefreite'' were competent, authorized, and tasked to act on behalf of NCOs. So ''Gefreite'' became the first superior rank above the lowest-level privates. Nevertheless, until 1853 there were no special rank insignia for ''Gefreiter''. In contrast, from 1811 to 1853 the ''Vize-Unteroffizier'' (deputy sergeant) wore the NCO ''Portepee'' (sword-knot). In 1846 the rank of Obergefreiter () was introduced. This rank was shown by the so-called sergeant's button on the collar and the NCO ''Portepee'' on the sword. From 1853 to 1919 promotion to ''Obergefreiter'' was suspended with the exc ...
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Oberfeldwebel
(OFw or OF) is the fourth-lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force. History The rank was introduced first by the German Reichswehr in 1920. Preferable most experienced Protégée-NCO of the old army have been promoted. Within the Reichswehr, was taken over as second-highest Protégée-NCO rank by the German Wehrmacht in 1935. In the military branch cavalry, artillery and anti-aircraft artillery it was called Oberwachtmeister. The equivalent rank to the Oberfeldwebel in the Waffen-SS was the SS-Hauptscharführer from 1938 until 1945. The rank has been used in the GDR National People's Army from 1956 until 1990 as well. Rank information It is grouped as OR6 in NATO, equivalent in the US Army to Staff Sergeant, or in British Army / RAF to Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternati ...
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Paratrooper Battalion 263 (Bundeswehr)
The Paratrooper Battalion 263 (''Fallschirmjägerbataillon 263'') was one of the three combat battalions of the German Army's Airborne Brigade 26, which is a part of the Special Operations Division. Paratrooper Battalion 263 was fully airmobile and could act both as air assault infantry or could be dropped by parachute into the area of operations. History The battalion was activated as the third combat battalion of Airborne Brigade 26 on April 1, 1982. Since 1985, the headquarters of the battalion have been hosted in Zweibrücken. The unit temporarily belonged to the multiliteral AMF(L) Brigade. It has taken part in overseas operations since 1993 when large parts of the battalion deployed to Somalia. Since then, Paratrooper Battalion 263 has taken part in numerous operations all over the globe and spent much time in northern Afghanistan, as part of the Kunduz Province Campaign, battling the resurgent Taliban insurgency. In 2006, the battalion attracted attention when some of its ...
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