As of: April 4, 2024, 10:55 a.m
By: Franziska Schwarz
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Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (archive photo) wants to make the Bundeswehr “war-ready”. © Sylvio Dittrich/Imago
The German Bundeswehr is receiving a new command structure. Defense Minister Pistorius may be using the Cold War as a blueprint.
Berlin – Boris Pistorius wants to present his plans for the Bundeswehr reform this Thursday (April 4th). With a changed command structure, the troops should become more capable of acting militarily. In November, the SPD Defense Minister proclaimed “warworthiness as a maxim for action”.
Against the background of Russia's aggression and the growing threat of war for Germany, Pistorius has given the order to question the existing command structure and align it with the requirements of contemporary national and alliance defense, the Defense Ministry said.
Pistorius wants to focus the Bundeswehr on national and alliance defense
On Pistorius' table are working papers that provide for a joint operational command and four branches of the armed forces - the army, air force, navy and cyber and information space (CIR). The medical service and the so-called armed forces base - which includes logistics, military police and NBC defense - could lose their independence.
The argument for integrating military police and NBC defense specialists into the land forces, as in the Cold War, was primarily that “immediate access was necessary in an emergency,” the
Tagesspiegel
summarized a corresponding guest article by Pistorius.
Lack of personnel in the Bundeswehr: How does Pistorius want to proceed?
The Bundeswehr has previously had an operations command in Schwielowsee near Potsdam for planning and controlling foreign operations such as in West Africa or now with the frigate “Hessen” in the Red Sea. In addition, a territorial command for national defense was created in Berlin, in which the operational plan (“OPLAN”) for the national defense of Germany was developed. The two positions have very different tasks, but also some possible overlap.
It is also expected with interest whether and how the minister will comment on the Bundeswehr's personnel targets. The Bundeswehr's so-called personnel offensive has not made any progress in recent years and the number of soldiers has recently fallen to 181,500. The stated goal so far has been for the Bundeswehr to grow to 203,000 soldiers by 2031 - now also against the background of the new dangers since the Ukraine war.
(frs with dpa)