In addition to controlling Germany 's border , the BGS Alert police served as a federal reserve force to deal with major disturbances and other emergencies beyond the scope of Land police . The BGS guarded airports and foreign embassies , and several highly trained detachments are available for special crisis situations requiring demolition equipment , helicopters , or combat vehicles . Up to 1972 the BGS was organized in eight units known as Grenzschutzgruppen ( Border Guard Units ) GSG-1 to GSG-8 . After shortcomings in police procedures and training were revealed by the terrorist attack on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics , a BGS task force known as Grenzschutzgruppe 9 ( GSG-9 ) was formed to deal with terrorist incidents , especially hostage situations . The GSG-9 won world attention when it rescued eighty-six passengers on a Lufthansa Flight 181 airliner which was hijacked to Mogadishu , Somalia , in 1977
Flight 181
Lufthansa Flight 181
Bundesgrenzschutz