It is also used as one of the ceremonial sites where new members of the Wachbataillon of the Bundeswehr (German military's drill unit) take their oaths.
In the Großer Zapfenstreich for Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg in March 2011, the first female soldier was performing the role of torchbearer.
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In addition the Wachbataillon executes the Großer Zapfenstreich on special occasions (for example on the 50th anniversary of the Bundeswehr in front of the Reichstag in Berlin on the night of October 26, 2005) or takes part in (inter)national events like the ceremonial oath of the Bundeswehr ceremony, parades, military tattoos and shows with its drill team which is the best trained special unit of the battalion.
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It consists of nine companies (see list below) and belongs to the Streitkräftebasis (Joint Service Support Command) of the Bundeswehr.
It is the traditional March of the Wachbataillon, the German Bundeswehr's elite drill unit, it is also played at the first march at the Grand Tattoo and it was the traditional March of the East German armed forces.
Kampfgruppe Rauter consisted of the Landstorm Nederland, Wachbataillon Nordwest and a regiment of the Ordnungspolizei.