All military careers have been open to women for exactly 20 years.
Two decades later, the discussion about the need for female ranks has flared up.
An interview with Oberleutnant Wiebke Cramer and Sergeant Angelique Pommer, who are on duty at the Bruck air base.
Ms. Cramer, should I address you as Ms. Oberleutnant, or would you prefer Ms. Oberleutnant in future?
Wiebke Cramer:
For God's sake, ranks should by no means be feminized!
Frau Hauptfeldwebel?
Angelique Pommer:
For me personally, this form of address is perfectly adequate.
In my opinion, the clarity results from the form of address chosen.
Why did you join the "male domain" of the Bundeswehr at that time?
Pommer
: After school I started and completed my training as a retail saleswoman in the field of communication technology.
After my apprenticeship was unable to take over me, I remembered the military service advisor who had shown us different perspectives in the armed forces when we were at school.
That sounded exciting.
Cramer
: There was no initial ignition for me, I grew up in a region where it was not uncommon for armed forces exercises to shake the windows of our room.
My older brother had already been committed for a number of years, so I knew what to expect when I apply.
What is special about the job at the federal government?
Pommer
: I don't find the job that special at all - the biggest difference is perhaps the inner structure due to the camaraderie.
We soldiers have the same fundamentals, a similar training and suffered a lot in common - that welds you together even after work, more than if you simply stamp out civilian jobs and go home.
Cramer
: What makes the soldier profession unusual is that you have to constantly expect to break up your tents and move elsewhere.
Fursty is my sixth job.
Starting with my basic training in Lower Saxony, the service brought me further and further south.
It remains to be mentioned here, however, that two transfers were made at my own request.
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At the special unit: Angelique Pommer is a trained aerial photograph evaluator.
© mjk
To what extent has the understanding of women in the armed forces changed since you entered service?
Cramer
: The understanding at the beginning of my service was certainly different from today.
But I would like to say that it was due to the fact that many of my male comrades were unsure how to deal with female comrades.
Women in the bivouac, on practice sites and so on - that was new after all.
In addition, there was the infrastructure, there were no sanitary rooms for women, everything was associated with considerable organizational effort, especially at the beginning.
At first I was the only woman in the barracks - apart from the paramedics.
Fortunately, that has changed a lot today, and so have the initial difficulties.
Pommer
: It wasn't that difficult for me.
The recruitment advisor at the career center emphasized exuberantly that women are now all open to the Bundeswehr.
However, this was a matter of course in my worldview.
And today?
Pommer
: Everything is normal.
Very rarely does a man complain if he feels ignored and is of the opinion that the women's quota is to blame.
What decisions as a manager do you make differently than a man?
Cramer
: I don't know whether women really decide more intuitively or more emotionally. After all, everything has to be within the given professional and legal framework.
It's probably more of a question of type than a question of gender.
Pommer
: Exactly, depending on your individual empathy.
At every Bundeswehr location there are gender equality ombudsmen who correspond with the supraregional gender equality officers. What do you think the equality ombudsmen have to listen to here at Fursty?
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Wiebke Cramer is first lieutenant.
© mjk
Pommer
: There is perhaps a misunderstanding in this question: women of trust are rarely sought out by women because they do not feel that they are equal to men.
I was a confidante for three years, just as many men as women came to me, it mostly deals with issues such as the compatibility of family and service, with misconceptions about service at the federal level, but also with interpersonal difficulties.
Cramer
: That was also what I observed during my work.
We were there at every interrogation - whether it was a woman or a man.
When was the last time a comrade showed consideration because you are a woman?
Cramer
: The overcautiousness and consideration of men as they did at the beginning almost 20 years ago has clearly normalized.
Nobody holds the door for me because I'm a woman, but because it is an act of mutual courtesy.
Open aversions towards women in the Bundeswehr are now very rare.
Pommer
: Even I don't feel any preferential treatment as a woman in daily work, on the contrary, occasionally you have to prove more than a man and “his wife stands”.
In the early years, many women soldiers complained about poorly tailored combat suits. Does “the green stuff” fit better today?
Pommer
: In my opinion, the Bundeswehr cannot be measured by better or worse cut combat suits.
There are more important things!
For some people the suit is more taut than for others.
Cramer
: I honestly have to admit that I had a lot more problems than badly tailored combat suits.
The clothes were provided to me - that's great.
I can't say whether I think the “cut” of clothing is better today.
The clothes serve their purpose - 19 years ago as well as today.
Also interesting:
The Fürstenfeldbruck air base on the way to the civilian future
Many women soldiers at the Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base are responsible for training and teaching
Ten percent of the around 400 soldiers and civil servants at the Air Force officers' school at the air base are women soldiers.
Among them are eight officers, twelve NCOs with and without porters and 20 from the rank group of the men.
Around 60 percent of women soldiers are employed in training and teaching.
32 women work as normal employees at the officers' school, which also includes the Air Force Image Reconnaissance Training Center (AZAALw).
The school is to leave Fürstenfeldbruck in two and a half years, the AZAALw will stay a few years longer.
