With the Bundeswehr the soldiers in the guard battalion are all about the perfect picture when receiving state guests, taps and honorary escorts. But they also have an infantry mission: defending government buildings in a state of tension and defense. To this end, they train in local and house-to-house combat as well as object protection. Their level of training is tested during the “Bollwerk Bärlin” exercise.
The capital city mission of the guard battalion at the Federal Ministry of Defense is a unique selling point, as infantry combat in a major city like Berlin is associated with special challenges: Narrow streets and tall buildings make for poor visual and radio communications. One particular challenge is fighting subway in a subway station.
Infanteriemunition aus Schwanenstadt – Besuch bei Rheinmetall WM ARGES
The underground combat training scenario took place in the early hours of November 19 in the training tunnel at Jungfernheide subway station. The scenario involved the deployment of security forces – including snipers – to present the situation near the subway station. During the exercise, several infantry groups entered the exercise tunnel in staggered formation and operated within it.
The first infantry group reached a subway train in the tunnel that had been brought to a halt by saboteurs. The group found a large number of injured people there. The squad leader had to decide whether to provide first aid to these people directly or to continue the search for the saboteurs first.
As a result of this decision, a short firefight, the evacuation and recovery of injured persons, the arrest of a saboteur, and the deployment of further infantry groups for reinforcement were practiced.
Here for further reports on the Bundeswehr.
