http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?ID=14558
Germany's `new' armed forces Germany's armed forces are in the middle of a costly and encumbering transformation process that aims to make the Bundeswehr fit to face new enemies. Meanwhile, its soldiers are asked to perform in a series of international missions, a burden that some say brings the Bundeswehr near its limits. By Stefan Nicola in Kehl am Rhein, Germany for ISN Security Watch (26/01/06) The Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, desperately needs a reform pause as it is overworked and underpaid, according to its ombudsman in parliament. Ombudsman Reinhold Robbe told parliament last week that the Bundeswehr was "trapped between security policy necessities and too little federal support" and its soldiers at times were challenged "beyond their capacities". Robbe delivered to his colleagues a yearly report listing the shortcomings and complaints that the 250,000-strong force experienced in 2004 and early 2005. It cited painful payment cuts, including the halving of Christmas benefits, amid an increasing number of challenging foreign missions. German Defense Minister Franz-Josef Jung, of the conservative Christian Social Union, urged Berlin not to further meddle with the 24 billion the Bundeswehr currently gets per year, a tiny amount compared to the roughly US$400 billion the US forces have at their disposal. "In the coming budget talks, it has to be made sure that the Bundeswehr can take on its responsibilities in foreign missions," Jung told parliament. A positive signal has come from Berlin, where media reports have the government discussing the possibility of investing an additional 6 billion into communications technologies and unmanned reconnaissance planes. The Bundeswehr currently deploys 6,342 soldiers to 12 foreign operations, according to official numbers. They are serving in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Kosovo, and Sudan, making Germany one of the top contributors to international missions. By far, the two biggest missions are the 2,527 soldiers serving with NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) in the Balkans and the 2,444 men and women deployed to Afghanistan to aid the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) there. Bundeswehr units also take part in the US-led anti-terror operations "Enduring Freedom" in East Africa and "Active Endeavor" in the Mediterranean Sea. The many recent humanitarian assignments of the Bundeswehr, such as those in Indonesia after the December 2004 tsunami, have a long tradition. Since 1960, roughly 130 such missions have been carried out by Bundeswehr troops. They are uncontroversial since they result in virtually no casualties. Casualties have already popped up in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), however, to where the EU is mulling deployment of an "EU Battle Group" from March to July during elections, with one group formed by 1,500 German soldiers. Ongoing violence in the African nation has killed some 50,000 people since 1999. On Monday, eight UN peacekeeping soldiers were shot dead and 14 others were injured in an ambush. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier are against deploying German soldiers in the DRC, according to a news report in the Monday issue of Der Spiegel magazine. Winfried Stolze, spokesman of the German Bundeswehr Association, a solider interest group, said another Africa mission would overstretch the forces' current capacities. "We are already at our limits," Stolze told ISN Security Watch via telephone from his Berlin office. "For some foreign missions, we have had to rely on Dutch and British transport planes." Stolze said Germany had no post-colonial responsibilities in the DR Congo, and French and Belgian forces were much better suited for such a mission. Benjamin Schreer, military expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, a Berlin-based think tank, disagreed, however. He told ISN Security Watch in a Tuesday telephone interview that the Bundeswehr could handle a Congo mission. "The [EU] Battlegroup is ready when it comes to personnel and equipment," he said. Schreer said he did not agree with Robbe, who called for a reform pause, which translates into a halting of personnel reductions. "You have to keep cutting personnel and thus costs to make room for new investments," Schreer said. "A stop of the reform wouldn't be helpful; the transformation process has to continue." Germany's `new' Bundeswehr That "transformation", as the Defense Ministry calls the process, will give Germany's armed forces, once limited by the constitution to solely domestic protection, an entirely new face. It aims at making the Bundeswehr fit to face new enemies, such as terrorism and organized crime. Former defense minister Peter Struck in 2004 laid out a plan to restructure the troops into three different sections: The highly mobile intervention troops (35,000), peace-keeping oriented stabilizing troops (70,000), and basic support troops (147,500), each of which are differently equipped and trained. The change started in 1998, when then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder deployed German Tornado bombers to aid the international forces in the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, the first time Germany took part in a war since World War II. The controversial move surprised observers - especially given the fact that then-foreign minister Joschka Fischer of the Green Party had its political origin in the peace movement. The decision proved to be groundbreaking, as the Bundeswehr was now able and was increasingly asked to send armed troops to foreign countries. A war of aggression, with Germany taking part, however, is not only unconstitutional, but remains unthinkable, taking into account the country's past. Schröder's opposition to the US-led war in Iraq reflects that tradition. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, the German armed forces had already faced key reforms. After the CDU-led government under chancellor Helmut Kohl integrated roughly 20,000 soldiers of former communist East Germany, the SPD/Greens pushed further structural changes. Former defense minister Struck and his predecessor, Rudolf Scharping, gradually downsized the Bundeswehr, which after the fall of the Berlin Wall was nearly 600,000 men-strong. Now, roughly 250,000 men and women - who were allowed to join in 2001 - serve in its ranks. As the days of large-scale ground battles are a thing of the past, the Bundeswehr soldiers have a new profile, Stolze said. "What the Bundeswehr needs is quick and mobile forces, the infantryman of the future, who can execute single-person missions with the help of his laptop," he said. That also means getting rid of some old baggage. The Bundeswehr is selling, giving away, and scrapping several hundred of its heavy Leopard tanks, remnants of a time when "we thought there might be tank battles around the Elbe River", Stolze said. With the Leopard rolling out, other vehicles are arriving in increasing numbers, such as the Dingo, a light but mine-safe armored vehicle built by Munich-based firm Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. But you should not ditch the Leopard entirely, Schreer said. "The German Army needs an effective mix of heavy, medium, and light vehicles," Schreer said. "And you have to be able to integrate them with communications systems of the other services but also with our international partners." Stolze said that when it came to IT and communications technologies, Germany was still way behind international standards. "We're not compatible," he said. Struck and now Jung have tried to get more money for their troops, but the ever-growing federal deficit, which Merkel has vowed to cap and then decrease, leaves hardly any room for additional spending. "I have been told that [US Defense Secretary] Donald Rumsfeld told Jung when he was in Washington a few weeks ago that the German defense expenditures are ridiculous," Stolze said. "Of course we're in favor of raising the budget but we know it won't happen." A large chunk of the budget goes to personnel costs, but the Bundeswehr is still lagging behind other employers when it comes to salaries. With low-child generations approaching, Germany's armed forces may have a tough time finding qualified personnel, Stolze said. "Many of our hopefuls already decide to join the police, where they are much better paid," he said, adding that young soldiers were often put off by the fear that their bases might be closed, forcing them to move around frequently. There are success stories, however. The Bundeswehr's mission in Afghanistan, where it takes on a leading role, has been praised by the international community. "Even during the time when the US-German relationship cooled off between Schröder and [US President George] Bush, we were still getting praise in Washington for our engagement in Afghanistan," Stolze said. "I have been to Afghanistan several times, and much has been achieved there for the people thanks to the Bundeswehr." Solze added that the mission was well-backed as it received constant equipment updates. At home, however, the budget has been tightened. Barracks are rotting in the western part of the country, and Germany's yearly draft, once the fear of any young man clinging to his hometown, is getting so lax that many qualified draftees are denied in order to save money. Schreer said the Bundeswehr might face more drastic constraints in 2007 and 2008, when Merkel is trying to cut the deficit. "It remains to be seen whether that period can be tackled by creative shifting of resources," Schreer said. "But you need a top-down approach; you have to have support from politicians. You don't get transformation for free." Stefan Nicola is ISN Security Watch's senior correspondent in Germany. -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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