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Bundeswehr soldier on duty: "Many important issues are being processed"
Photo: Maurizio Gambarini / dpa
Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) does not want to introduce any female ranks for soldiers in the Bundeswehr for the time being.
Behind the closed doors of the Defense Committee, State Secretary Peter Tauber reported on Wednesday, according to SPIEGEL information, that the minister had decided at the beginning of the week not to deal with such plans from her house for the time being.
With that, the topic should be settled at least for this legislative period.
Shortly after the meeting, Tauber tweeted that the minister had "many important issues being worked on" with the Bundeswehr's missions abroad, the discussion about her budget and the troops' armaments projects.
That is why she will only dedicate herself to equal rights in the ranks "in due course".
Last week, a report by the "Welt" led to some intense discussions.
The report cited a template drawn up by several department heads from the defense department.
The paper from the beginning of July clearly states that the minister will receive a so-called submission for the decision (VzE) on the introduction of the new ranks on September 15.
Kramp-Karrenbauer wants to end the subject quietly
The new gender concept was outlined in detail in the paper.
In future, the rank should be "gendered" with exceptions.
There should be no main wife or colonel, but there should be a lieutenant colonel or a brigadier general.
In a transition phase of one year it should be possible that "the new service designations can already be used".
Kramp-Karrenbauer, however, was supposedly completely surprised by the plans for his own house.
A spokesman said to the "world" report that the minister had not been concerned with the issue at all.
In the ministry, however, the claim persists that Kramp-Karrenbauer discussed the idea with some department heads in a so-called table talk in the spring.
The fact that the minister now wants to quietly bury the issue is probably also due to the protest against the considerations.
Numerous women soldiers spoke up on Twitter or Instagram.
From her point of view, female titles thwart equality, as this re-establishes special roles for women.
In addition, the new ranks are a kind of belittling that many female soldiers reject.
The Bundeswehr Association also rejected the plans.
Association chief André Wüstner said he hardly knew any female soldier who wanted the new ranks.
He sent the minister a warning: "Whoever starts such a gender debate in the ministry now gives the troops the impression that they have finally lost all reference to the soldiers plagued by deficiency management".
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