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The Military Commissioner Eva Högl has published her annual report for 2023.
© Carsten Koall/dpa
The Bundeswehr should become a “war-ready” army.
However, improvements are still a long way off in the second year of the new era, according to the Commissioner for the Armed Forces in her annual report.
Berlin - Even in the second year of the military turnaround, there were no significant improvements in personnel, material and infrastructure in the German armed forces, according to a report by the military commissioner Eva Högl.
In addition, according to their assessment, the Bundeswehr is heading for significant personnel problems.
“The force continues to age and shrink,” writes the SPD politician in her annual report for 2023. A number of associations have large “personnel vacancies”.
Högl also states: “There is a lack of material from large appliances to spare parts.
The shortage has become even greater as a result of the tax being paid to Ukraine.” The infrastructure is also disastrous in many places.
“I receive letters from parents whose children have just started service - in barracks with dilapidated rooms, moldy showers and clogged toilets.” The poor condition of the barracks is sometimes shameful and inappropriate for the service of the soldiers.
Högl: Bundeswehr not yet there
The Commissioner for the Armed Forces writes that “important steps have been taken in many areas” over the past year, but that the Bundeswehr has not yet reached its goal.
She referred to an “unprecedented number” of so-called 25 million templates with which the Ministry of Defense gets the green light in the Bundestag for larger procurement projects.
The personal equipment for the individual soldiers is now available and is so extensive that there is not enough space in the lockers.
She points out that the Bundeswehr's second major foreign deployment to Afghanistan ended last year in Mali, West Africa, and writes: "The results are similarly sobering."
Such missions would become less likely with a refocus on national and alliance defense.
According to Article 45b of the Basic Law, the Commissioner for the Armed Forces helps the Bundestag with parliamentary control of the armed forces.
But she is also seen as an advocate for the soldiers, who can turn to her at any time.
dpa