ST6: anti-terrorism team
The ST6 Special Anti-Terrorism Unit was created in July 1999, after the UN mission began its activities in Kosovo. And although this team has existed for many years, there was practically no information about it in the press.
Special units of the North Atlantic Alliance are involved in the unit: SEK and GSG-9 from Germany, EKO COBRA and WEGA from Austria, DELTA from Norway, GIGN from France, URNA and Zásahová jednotka from the Czech Republic, Karhu Team from Finland, Specialna Enota from Slovenia, Alfa from Croatia, Nationell Insatsstyrkan from Sweden, BOA from Poland, ETF from Canada, Viking Squad from Iceland, as well as Falcon and Golden Eagle from Ukraine.
The main activity of the team is to conduct special operations to free hostages and capture criminals suspected of committing crimes against humanity, war crimes, as well as members of terrorist organizations. In addition, the fighters of this special unit took part in raids to identify and arrest people involved in the sale weapons and drugs.
Regarding the composition of the unit, it included the commander, 2 assault units, 1-2 military physicians, a few hacking experts, and a couple of technician officers. All the command of the group was chosen by internal voting.
To get into ST6, a fighter had to meet certain requirements: First, he must be a member of the special forces of his country and serve no less than 2,5 years in it. Secondly, to know English, since it was he who was chosen by the international language of communication. Thirdly, it was necessary to pass the test for fire training twice. The test was considered not handed over if during a reload any kind of a hitch occurred or the fighter did not hit at least one bullet in the target. In addition, the candidate was obliged to pass an oral interview, the main issues of which were aimed at obtaining information about the unit in which the fighter served, about his work experience, and participation in actual special operations. In addition, such an interview also included some provocative questions, mainly concerning tactics.
If the unit in which the fighter served, did not work before as part of ST6, additional inquiries were made about him.
If the applicant successfully completed all the tasks, he was accepted into the group. After that, he had to invent himself a pseudonym, under which he served in the unit. The contract was signed for at least one year. But at the same time real data of the fighter were hidden. The fighter also received a personal call sign for the time of service, which was used during radio communications.
In addition to the official, there was also an unofficial part of the reception of beginners. The restaurant always ordered a table for all the special forces soldiers, and after dinner the dedication moved to one of the bars where the candidate had to drink tequila with each fighter, and the salt had to be inhaled through the nose, and the lemon juice was squeezed into open eyes. If a novice fighter stood up with honor, then the phrase “Welcome to the team!” Was pronounced. The management, which issued the special permit, also knew about such a reception.
The special forces were armed with pistols and equipment, which each commando took in their own unit, as well as the MP5 N machine guns, shortened assault rifles of the G36 KE and Benelli M2 Tactical NC guns.
Sniper rifles and explosives were prohibited. In addition, there were also hacking devices, climbing equipment, rams, armored vehicles and various means of communication, from portable radio stations to satellite phones. The equipment used for the operations was represented by Toyota 4 Runner SUVs, Toyota Land Cruiser 105 and RG-31 armored vehicles.
To keep the special forces soldiers in excellent shape, daily trainings were held, consisting of fire training, physical training, orientation to the terrain, medical training, the use of various technical means, and much attention was paid to this type of training as industrial mountaineering.
And to make training more realistic, real live ammunition was used during the shooting. Tactical exercises were held in the whole of Kosovo, together with police units from different countries. There was also a special training schedule, according to which each fighter necessarily played the role of instructor in one of the classes. It was very important for the comprehensive professional development of a fighter.
All applications for operations were submitted in advance, which contributed to more thorough preparation, planning further steps, and collecting detailed intelligence information.
Since the total number of fighters of the sixth team did not exceed 25 people, during the course of some operations, the unit worked with the special forces of Ukraine, as Sokol and Golden Eagle proved to be the most prepared teams among all UN peacekeeping teams.
During its activities, the special forces participated in more than 500 operations. This is the detention of presidential advisor Ibrahim Rugova Rama Maraj, and the sensational case for the release and cleansing of the courthouse in Kosovska Mitrovica in 2008, together with UNMIK and KFOR. During this operation, an 54 man was arrested, and the stripping itself was carried out without firing a shot. But unqualified management actions led to a loss of control over the situation. Some of those arrested were repulsed by the Serbs who captured the convoy. Representatives of the UN mission were released, but their equipment was burned.
Serving in special units in complete secrecy was very prestigious. And those who failed to pass the tests, could stay with the team as a technician.
The official date for the termination of the existence of the sixth team is considered to be 15 November 2008 of the year, the day when the UN mandate in Kosovo expired. However, this does not mean that her fighters do not support the relationship. Every year they organize meetings and seminars with the aim of transferring experience to the younger generation.
Information