KSK operatives have taken part in joint anti-terror operations, notably in the Balkans and Middle East. From until the KSK's formation in , the West Germany and later Federal Republic of Germany government assigned all anti-irregular military, counterterrorism and hostage rescue crisis management, long-range penetration, and special warfare operations activities to GSG 9, a highly trained police force created shortly after the Munich massacre that transpired during the Munich Olympic Games.
One political reason for the establishment of the KSK was that in , during the Rwandan genocide , German citizens had to be evacuated by Belgian Para-Commando Brigade. This task was carried out by special operations forces of the former colonial power Belgium as agreed upon in advance by the NATO partners.
The Federal Government of Germany chose not to intervene directly, as it believed neither the Federal Border Protection's GSG 9 counterterrorism and hostage rescue unit nor the German Army Paratrooper Commando Companies B1 were trained for irregular warfare, and there was also a lack of necessary transport capability.
Several Belgian soldiers died during this operation. Due to the political pressure, the need to have its forces ready for special operations within NATO became evident. Following the KSK's activation on 20 September , [ 1 ] soldiers were recruited from former members of the Paratrooper Commando Companies B1 of the individual airborne brigades. These soldiers had already been trained for air assault and airborne operation, anti-irregular military, commando style operation, counterterrorism and hostage rescue crisis management, irregular warfare, long-range penetration, and special warfare, and were now incorporated into the KSK as part of this restructuring.
Specialists from other branches of the Bundeswehr were also occasionally recruited. The integration took place with new equipment adapted to the largely new operational profile of "crisis prevention and crisis management" and was supplemented by equipping the KSK with its command, communications, and support staff.
