The Study and Training Group for Military Reconnaissance (German: Lehr- und Ausbildungsgruppe für das Fernspähwesen der Bundeswehr; LAFBw) was a highly classified clandestine unit of the foreign intelligence agency of Germany, Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) from 1964 to 1979.
History
editThe unit was founded as Special tasks unit 404/III within the BND and used the military name Study and Training Group for Military Reconnaissance as a cover.
In the State of Defence the unit's task would have been secret operations as a Stay-behind unit. These operations included partisan warfare against occupying forces, smuggling of equipment and personnel, reconnaissance and training BND and Bundeswehr personnel in commando warfare.
The unit's training was conducted by the Bundeswehr, the Bundesgrenzschutz, and the US Army's 10th Special Forces Group in Bad Tölz.
The unit was officially disbanded in 1979.
Sources
edit- Die Partisanen der NATO. Stay-Behind Organisationen in Deutschland 1946-1991. Berlin: Chr. Links Verlag. 2015. ISBN 978-3-86153-840-0.
- Die Organisation Gehlen und die Neuformierung des Militärs in der Bundesrepublik. Berlin: Chr. Links Verlag. 2017. ISBN 978-3-86153-967-4.