Last month, Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a special address to the Bundestag and the German public, in which he declared a “turning point” in the modern history of the country. The era of a shrinking German military is over, he said. The days in which only three German combat aircraft are operational, and no submarine can put to sea because of technical problems, are at an end. The time has come to invest in the Bundeswehr, which steadily withered after the collapse of the Iron Curtain and the end of the Cold War. There’s a new war in the neighborhood. Russia invaded Ukraine unprovoked, and the biggest battles on European soil since the Second World War are taking place just hundreds of kilometers east of the German capital. “Soon,” Scholz promised, “Germany will have the largest conventional army in Europe within NATO.”

Such militant talk has been heard from Berlin several times in the past century or so, but this time, the decision by the Bundestag after Scholz’s speech to allocate one hundred billion euros immediately to massive rearmament of all Germany’s armed forces did not arouse waves of fear around the world, but rather plaudits. The current democratic Germany is well anchored in NATO, and even more so in the European Union. Rearmament is coming after years of appeals from the West for greater military involvement.

The German pendulum, one that in recent decades has remained steadily at the diplomatic end, where dialogue is always preferable to unilateral action and concepts such as “soft power” and “change through trade” are constantly heard, has swung sharply to the other side over the past three months. Germany is now on a clear path to rearmament, after decades of neglect and downsizing, abolition of mandatory conscription, and limited military procurement.

” I’m the one who must give answers about the unpreparedness of the German army,” Chief of German Army Lieutenant General Alfons Mais posted on social media just days after the war broke out, in a post critical of his country. “For decades, we conducted a mistaken military policy,” lamented former Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen. It seems clear, now that it is enjoying the public legitimacy it previously lacked, that the time has come for the German military’s star to shine once more.

And this time, one relatively small country, one with a thriving arms industry and “special relations” with Germany, suddenly finds itself at the heart of the German procurement campaign. What began in the 1990s with unilateral and one-time German compensation to Israel in the form of submarines, has in the past decade become a closer and more reciprocal security relationship than ever, turning over billions of euros. UAVs built in Israel, air-to-surface missiles fired from UAVs developed by Israel’s defense industry, small arms, German warships, electronic warfare systems and of course sophisticated submarines made in Germany – all have already changed hands. Even Israel’s Arrow 3 missile defense system with its state-of-the-art radar is there for purchase, as is the Iron Dome system for short-range rocket defense.

The German switch of direction, the Zeitenwende (“change of eras”) mentioned by Scholz, catches Israel when it has closer than ever security relations with Europe’s biggest economy, meaning an opportunity for a financial bonanza. “From the moment the German army’s procurement list was published, that is, the key areas where it intends to spend the €100 billion, the phones have not stopped ringing,” an Israeli source familiar with security procurement relations between the two countries told “Globes”. “Every Israeli company, state-owned or private, believes it can find an item that fits the systems it develops, and that now is the time to sell to the Germans.”

In the past, fearing the reaction of the Arab countries and their possible recognition of East Germany, West Germany refused to build submarines for Israel; they were built in foreign shipyards according to German design. The turning point in relations occurred only after the Gulf War in 1991, which coincided with reunification, and the desire of a newly united Germany to gain legitimacy from Israel. In those days, after two world wars, the very idea of a unified Germany scared the West.

Five German submarines have already been delivered to Israel. Among other things, these have become, according to foreign reports, Israel’s strategic home defense, capable of launching a “second round” of nuclear cruise missiles in the event of a nuclear attack. Four corvettes were also provided. The sixth submarine is currently under construction at the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) shipyards in Kiel and is supposed to be the glory of Germany’s naval shipbuilding industry, the biggest built in Germany since World War II. Last year, a contract was signed for the supply of three even more advanced submarines at close to three billion euro. According to the SIPRI Arms Transfers Database, over the last three decades, Israel has become the German arms industry’s fourth largest export destination, after Greece, Turkey and South Korea.

But what has changed in recent years is reciprocity. The German army finds in Israel a modern and relatively proximate army that it can learn from, with similar potential enemies, like Iran and Russia (which are operating in Syria). In addition, Israel is a leading arms exporter in areas where Germany is relatively weak, such as modern warfare. Instead of just receiving submarines, Israel now sells anti-tank missiles and missile defense systems to Germany. It even leases advanced UAVs to the German army and will soon arm them with advanced air-to-surface missiles. Security relations are flourishing, and past attempts to make them conditional upon political progress with the Palestinians, as Merkel tried to do briefly, have evaporated.

“Germany is changing the way it thinks about war and its military procurement,” explains Dr. Peter Lintl, of Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWF, the German Institute for International and Security Affairs) and an expert on Germany-Israel relations. “The Germans see clearly that Israel arms work, and there’s no doubt that Israel is a leading country in this area. In addition, it’s important to remember that most German politicians have a basic ambition to strengthen relations between Israel and Germany. There are many considerations in buying weapons systems, but they are undoubtedly always joined by a longstanding German consideration – reinforcing ties between the countries, because of the history.”

Dr. Lintl believes that these days “There’s a consensus not to sell weapons related to the occupation, but only a minority within the political system say that weapons should not be bought from or sold to Israel at all because of the conflict with the Palestinians” But, he says, “Should there be another confrontation with Gaza, some will say, once again, that Germany needs to be more careful. In fact, there is a constant tension between the desire to strengthen the special relationship, because of the past, and the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. ”

Strangely, the Holocaust created a special bond between the countries, Dr. Lintl believes. “Just as pacifism has been, so far, a part of German national identity, so has battle readiness been in Israel. Both sides came out of the Holocaust saying ‘Never again’. In Germany it meant ‘No more war, ever,’ and in Israel it meant and still means ‘We will never again go like sheep to the slaughter.”’

The present global Zeitgeist is clearly leaning towards the Israeli approach. The war in Ukraine has led many European militaries to announce they are rearming, and Germany sees in Israel an arms industry that complements what it lacks: creativity, computing, innovation, and everything related to digitization and software. The close relationship between the two countries is reflected, for example, in the 2018 German deal to lease seven Heron-TP UAVs, which allows for training and information sharing between the parties, and not just purchasing a “black box” weapons system. Last April, the German government even announced that it would equip the drones with Israeli missiles, for which it will pay at least €150 million. The Germans hope this will also help them develop future European UAVs, and they are willing to pay billions of euros for that.

The German army’s generational shift is also doing its part. “The older generation with its forms and rubber stamps is gone, and younger people are coming in,” says an informed Israeli source. “They travel to Israel, go to the beach, visit Air Force bases, see the weapons systems in action – and they get excited. The same dynamics that made Israel the start-up nation also works in selling advanced weapons.”

Joint flights and training exercises

About €40 billion of the approved €100 billion are earmarked for equipping the Luftwaffe, which maintains the warmest of ties with its Israeli counterpart. The joint flyovers above Dachau and the Negev are symbolic, but also reflect the depth of the relationship forged between the forces, especially in recent years. At the Israel Air Force’s Tel Nof base, a German squadron trains UAV pilots, German and Israeli families walk around the base, and all have lunch together, shoulder to shoulder, each wearing their own uniform. The name of the squadron – The Red Baron – was suggested by the Israelis in honor of the German World War I flying ace.

The depth of this relationship was evident last month at a ceremony held near Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. The commanders of the Israeli and German Air Forces – General Amikam Nurkin (who retired about two months ago) and General Ingo Gerhartz – jointly received the Ernst Cramer Medaille, a medal awarded by the Deutsch-Israelische Gesellschaft (DIG, the German-Israeli Society). This was the first time the award was presented to military personnel, and the Air Force commanders of both countries praised the cooperation between them.

Gerhartz later told newspaper Die Welt how much he valued his Israeli counterpart. “Israel has the most active air force in the world and a very efficient military industry. We, on the other hand, have complex bureaucratic structures.” Gerhartz added that the German Air Force was preparing for the day when it would be called upon to side with Israel in the name of the commitment made by former Chancellor Merkel and current Chancellor Scholz, that viewed ensuring Israel’s existence as part of the Federal Republic of Germany’s Staatsraison (meaning, ‘reason for being’). “If we say this,” Gerhartz said, “then we should also stand behind it. It means that the two air forces must be able to work together. The question of whether that will actually happen will depend on a political decision.”

Yoram Erlich, an Israeli who has lived in Germany for more than four decades and deals in tourism, is one of the members of the DIG leadership who decided to award the medal to both commanders. “I saw it as very natural,” he tells “Globes”. “The photos from the exercises in the Arava and the joint flights over Jerusalem or Dachau are part of very broad cooperation on security issues, much more than in the past.” Beyond that, he says, “there are very close personal relations between many Germans and Israelis these days. The Germans have a kind of attraction to Israel, because of the past. There are many exchange visits, whether for youth, journalists, military personnel, or politicians.”

Ehrlich says that he sensed security relations were growing closer when he began to see more and more German military personnel, especially from the Luftwaffe, at the Tel Aviv hotels he visits as part of his travels. “On one flight, I found myself sitting next to the German chief of staff who had apparently come to visit the country for security talks, and on another visit, in a Tel Aviv hotel lobby, I met German helicopter pilots who boasted to me that they had purchased an important component from the Israeli Air Force.”

“But, of course, you have to have a good product,” Ehrlich adds. “The German army won’t buy just for its own sake, just because of the history, or the special relationship. All my German acquaintances saw on television the Iron Dome system in action last year. One of the first things I have been told since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine is that Germany needs such a system, too.”

A slice of the budget pie

Meanwhile, Israel’s defense companies are not wasting time, with all of them trying to obtain a share of the heavy German military budget. Last week, the Innovation and Leadership in Aerospace (ILA) trade show was held in Berlin, after two years during which the Covid-19 pandemic halted international security conferences. Israel – which SIPRI ranks as the world’s ninth largest arms exporter – was lavishly represented at a variety of defense industry booths. Meanwhile, Rafael’s German subsidiary Dynamit Nobel Defense (DND), has already won a major contract to supply anti-tank rocket launchers to the German army.

At present, the German request to be the world’s first Arrow 3 customer is also being discussed. German political delegations have already visited Israel to discuss the purchase, and Gerhartz told the media he had recommended that the German government should purchase it. The sophisticated EL/M-2080 Green Pine missile-defense radar, which is part of the system, is supposed to protect not only Germany but the Baltic states and Poland as well. The initial cost of the project is estimated at €3 billion.

These billions are proof that security relations between Israel and Germany could hardly be closer. Less than 70 years after the Holocaust, German submarines are protecting Israel, and Western Europe’s defensive architecture is about to be “Made in Israel”.

Source: https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-germany-rearms-with-israeli-weapons-1001416383

The post Germany rearms with Israeli weapons first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The decision clears the way for the government to move ahead with a massive procurement drive that Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Parliament’s upper house, which represents Germany’s 16 state governments, signed off on the plan a week after the lower house gave its blessing. Scholz’s governing coalition held lengthy negotiations with the main opposition Union bloc to secure wide backing ahead of the votes.

Scholz announced the fund on Feb. 27, three days after Russia invaded Ukraine, and said that Germany would now spend over 2% of its gross domestic product on defense — a NATO target on which it has long lagged. The government and the opposition agreed that defense spending would meet the 2% target “on a multi-year average,” with help from the special fund.

Officials acknowledge that the German military, the Bundeswehr, has for years suffered from neglect and in particular from aging, poorly functioning equipment.

Among other things on the shopping list, the defense ministry says it will buy 60 Chinook CH-47F transport helicopters, made by Boeing. The government also wants to buy up to 35 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets to replace aging Tornado aircraft.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Source: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-politics-sports-germany-230ba0d176b095606861f70578375513

The post Huge German military fund clears last parliamentary hurdle first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Here’s What You Need To Remember: If a high priority NATO tasked unit was short over 14,000 pieces of equipment, it calls into question how deep the rot in the Bundeswehr goes—and Germany’s commitment to the alliance.

The modern German armed forces, or Bundeswehr, were created just ten years after the end of World War II. Cold war tensions and the presence of Soviet troops in East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland made a West German defense force necessary.

The Bundeswehr eventually grew to one of the largest, well-equipped armed forces in the world, boasting twelve combat divisions, hundreds of combat aircraft in the Luftwaffe (German Air Force), and a formidable force of surface ships, submarines, and maritime aircraft in the Bundesmarine (Navy).

The end of the Cold War and withdraw of the Red Army from Eastern Europe was a boon for European security. The National Volksarmee of East Germany and the Bundeswehr merged into a new national army. Inventories of ships, aircraft and armored vehicles were cut by up to seventy five percent, and the German defense budget was cut further. Germany now spends just 1.2% of GDP on defense, far below the NATO recommended 2%.

In the past year numerous articles have arisen demonstrating the Bundeswehr’s lack of readiness. Fixed wing aircraft, helicopters and other vehicles have been grounded due to lack of spare parts, bringing readiness rates below 50%.

Indeed, Germany’s military, while armed with some of the world’s most deadly weapons, faces some tremendous challenges. Below are five weapons platforms that in normal times would be truly deadly, however, face some very basic challenges if ever needed in combat, mostly due to a massive lack of underfunding and other problems.

In the 1980s, the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain teamed up to begin development of the Future European Fighter Aircraft, or FEFA. First flight of what would become the Eurofighter Typhoon was in 1994, and Germany accepted its first Eurofighter in 2003. Budget cuts mean that the Luftwaffe will probably accept its last fighter sooner than anyone thought.

The Eurofighter is likely the best non fifth-generation fighter in existence. A combination of excellent maneuverability, powerful engines, AESA radar, infra-red search and track sensor and AMRAAM and Sidewinder missiles make Eurofighter a tough opponent in the air. Eurofighter’s air to ground capability is growing, and the Luftwaffe’s fighters have the ability to carry unguided bombs, laser guided bombs and Taurus cruise missiles.

Germany was originally buying 180 Eurofighters, but a cancelled purchase in 2014 means only 143 fighters will be acquired. As of October 2014, only 42 of 109 Eurofighters were in flying condition, the rest grounded by lack of spare parts. At the same time, Germany reportedly halved annual flying hours for air crews, fearing that the fuselage would become unstable.

Another fighter developed by a European defense consortium, the Tornado was developed by the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany. Designed to penetrate enemy defenses by going in low and fast, the Tornado was one of the last swing-wing fighter jets. Since the end of the Cold War however, the Tornado forces has suffered from chronic underfunding.

The Luftwaffe eventually acquired both the IDS (Interdiction/Deep Strike) and ECR (Electronic Combat and Reconnaissance) versions of the plane. During the Cold War, Germany’s Tornado attack jets were assigned the mission of bombing Warsaw Pact targets, particularly airfields. In the years since German reunification, Luftwaffe Tornados conducted aerial reconnaissance missions over Kosovo and Afghanistan.

The German Navy and Air Force received a total of 357 Tornado aircraft. Their numbers reduced after the Cold War, Germany plans to keep the remainder in service until 2025 or beyond. Like other German weapon systems the Tornados are underfunded and of August 2014, only 38 of 89 were operational.

Developed in the 1970s by Krauss-Maffei as a replacement for the Leopard I, the Leopard II tank is still one of the best main battle tanks in existence. A logical extension of German postwar tactical doctrine, the Leopard II prioritized speed and firepower, making a highly mobile tank capable of exploiting changes on a fluid European battlefield. First fielded in 1979, the Leopard II is still in service today. Unfortunately, there are way too few of them.

The latest version of the Leopard II, the Leopard IIA7, incorporates a whole slew of upgrades meant to keep the tank viable until the 2030s. The A7 model features a longer barrel version of the same 120mm smoothbore gun, a third generation thermal sights, increased composite armor protection, and an auxiliary power unit to run electronics without having to run the tank engine.

West Germany procured 2,125 Leopard IIs — enough to equip nearly twelve panzer (tank) and panzergrenadier (mechanized infantry) divisions. The end of the Cold War and declining defense budgets caused Germany to shed nearly 90% of its tank force, and today the Bundeswehr has just 225 Leopard II tanks.

In the 1990s, the Bundeswehr replaced the Heckler and Koch G3 battle rifle with the G36 assault rifle. A new design using a lighter, NATO standard 5.56-millimeter bullet, thirty round magazines and integrated optics, the G36 was supposed to increase the firepower of German infantryman while lightening his load. 176,000 rifles were purchased.

After the Bundeswehr began deploying to Afghanistan it was discovered that the G36 was losing accuracy in combat. G36 rifles became inaccurate after sustained firing — a problem that may not have been obvious to a peacetime army. Still, it’s difficult to see how the defect was not noticed sooner.

After admitting the rifle was inaccurate, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced the rifle had “no future” in the Bundeswehr. The German Defense Ministry has just announced the procurement of 600 HK417 assault rifles, to be issued by mid-2016. The HK417 is also built by Heckler and Koch.

Panzergrenadier Battalion 371:

Panzergrenadiers are the Bundeswehr’s mechanized infantry. Germany has nine panzergrenadier battalions—each fields 900 men, roughly fifty infantry fighting vehicles and MILAN and Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank weapons.

Last February, Panzergrenadier Battalion 371, based in Marienburg, was participating in a NATO exercise in Norway. News quickly spread that the battalion, part of NATO’s Rapid Reaction Force, suffered from a shortage of pistols and night vision goggles. A shortage of MG3 machine guns meant broomsticks were painted black and pressed into service to simulate them. A new report states that the situation was even worse: Panzergrenadier Battalion 371 had to borrow 14,371 pieces of equipment from a total of 56 other Bundeswehr units… and it was still short on equipment.

If a high priority NATO tasked unit was short over 14,000 pieces of equipment, it calls into question how deep the rot in the Bundeswehr goes—and Germany’s commitment to the alliance.

Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national security writer based in San Francisco who has appeared in The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War is Boring and The Daily Beast. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blog Japan Security Watch. You can follow him on Twitter: @KyleMizokami.

This first appeared in 2015 and is being reposted due to reader interest.

Source: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/german-military-needs-serious-revamp-199189

The post The German Military Needs a Serious Revamp first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post German troops withdraw from Afghanistan first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Most German tanks and planes simply do not work.

Key point: It is as if Berlin has given up any serious commitment to its own security. The military is small and underfunded to a shocking degree.

The modern German armed forces, or Bundeswehr, were created just ten years after the end of World War II. Cold war tensions and the presence of Soviet troops in East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Poland made a West German defense force necessary.

The Bundeswehr eventually grew to one of the largest, well-equipped armed forces in the world, boasting twelve combat divisions, hundreds of combat aircraft in the Luftwaffe (German Air Force), and a formidable force of surface ships, submarines, and maritime aircraft in the Bundesmarine (Navy).

The end of the Cold War and withdrawal of the Red Army from Eastern Europe was a boon for European security. The National Volksarmee of East Germany and the Bundeswehr merged into a new national army. Inventories of ships, aircraft, and armored vehicles were cut by up to seventy-five percent, and the German defense budget was cut further. Germany now spends just 1.2% of GDP on defense, far below the NATO recommended 2%.

In the past year, numerous articles have arisen demonstrating the Bundeswehr’s lack of readiness. Fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and other vehicles have been grounded due to lack of spare parts, bringing readiness rates below 50%.

Indeed, Germany’s military, while armed with some of the world’s most deadly weapons, faces some tremendous challenges. Below are five weapons platforms that in normal times would be truly deadly, however, face some very basic challenges if ever needed in combat, mostly due to a massive lack of underfunding and other problems.

In the 1980s, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain teamed up to begin development of the Future European Fighter Aircraft, or FEFA. First flight of what would become the Eurofighter Typhoon was in 1994, and Germany accepted its first Eurofighter in 2003. Budget cuts mean that the Luftwaffe will probably accept its last fighter sooner than anyone thought.

(This is being reposted from 2015 due to the recent NATO Summit)

The Eurofighter is likely the best non-fifth-generation fighter in existence. A combination of excellent maneuverability, powerful engines, AESA radar, infra-red search and track sensor, and AMRAAM and Sidewinder missiles make Eurofighter a tough opponent in the air. Eurofighter’s air to ground capability is growing, and the Luftwaffe’s fighters have the ability to carry unguided bombs, laser-guided bombs, and Taurus cruise missiles.

Germany was originally buying 180 Eurofighters, but a canceled purchase in 2014 means only 143 fighters will be acquired. As of October 2014, only 42 of 109 Eurofighters were in flying condition, the rest grounded by lack of spare parts. At the same time, Germany reportedly halved annual flying hours for aircrews, fearing that the fuselage would become unstable.

Eurofighter Tornado:

Another fighter developed by a European defense consortium, the Tornado was developed by the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany. Designed to penetrate enemy defenses by going in low and fast, the Tornado was one of the last swing-wing fighter jets. Since the end of the Cold War, however, the Tornado forces has suffered from chronic underfunding.

The Luftwaffe eventually acquired both the IDS (Interdiction/Deep Strike) and ECR (Electronic Combat and Reconnaissance) versions of the plane. During the Cold War, Germany’s Tornado attack jets were assigned the mission of bombing Warsaw Pact targets, particularly airfields. In the years since German reunification, Luftwaffe Tornados conducted aerial reconnaissance missions over Kosovo and Afghanistan.

The German Navy and Air Force received a total of 357 Tornado aircraft. Their numbers reduced after the Cold War, Germany plans to keep the remainder in service until 2025 or beyond. Like other German weapon systems, the Tornados are underfunded and of August 2014, only 38 of 89 were operational.

Leopard II Main Battle Tank:

Developed in the 1970s by Krauss-Maffei as a replacement for the Leopard I, the Leopard II tank is still one of the best main battle tanks in existence. A logical extension of German postwar tactical doctrine, the Leopard II prioritized speed and firepower, making a highly mobile tank capable of exploiting changes on a fluid European battlefield. First fielded in 1979, the Leopard II is still in service today. Unfortunately, there are way too few of them.

The latest version of the Leopard II, the Leopard IIA7, incorporates a whole slew of upgrades meant to keep the tank viable until the 2030s. The A7 model features a longer barrel version of the same 120mm smoothbore gun, a third-generation thermal sights, increased composite armor protection, and an auxiliary power unit to run electronics without having to run the tank engine.

West Germany procured 2,125 Leopard IIs — enough to equip nearly twelve panzer (tank) and panzergrenadier (mechanized infantry) divisions. The end of the Cold War and declining defense budgets caused Germany to shed nearly 90% of its tank force, and today the Bundeswehr has just 225 Leopard II tanks.

G36 Assault Rifle:

In the 1990s, the Bundeswehr replaced the Heckler and Koch G3 battle rifle with the G36 assault rifle. A new design using a lighter, NATO standard 5.56-millimeter bullet, thirty round magazines, and integrated optics, the G36 was supposed to increase the firepower of German infantryman while lightening his load. 176,000 rifles were purchased.

After the Bundeswehr began deploying to Afghanistan it was discovered that the G36 was losing accuracy in combat. G36 rifles became inaccurate after sustained firing — a problem that may not have been obvious to a peacetime army. Still, it’s difficult to see how the defect was not noticed sooner.

After admitting the rifle was inaccurate, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced the rifle had “no future” in the Bundeswehr. The German Defense Ministry has just announced the procurement of 600 HK417 assault rifles, to be issued by mid-2016. The HK417 is also built by Heckler and Koch.

Panzergrenadier Battalion 371:

Panzergrenadiers are the Bundeswehr’s mechanized infantry. Germany has nine panzergrenadier battalions—each field 900 men, roughly fifty infantry fighting vehicles, and MILAN and Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank weapons.

Last February, Panzergrenadier Battalion 371, based in Marienburg, was participating in a NATO exercise in Norway. News quickly spread that the battalion, part of NATO’s Rapid Reaction Force, suffered from a shortage of pistols and night vision goggles. A shortage of MG3 machine guns meant broomsticks were painted black and pressed into service to simulate them. A new report states that the situation was even worse: Panzergrenadier Battalion 371 had to borrow 14,371 pieces of equipment from a total of 56 other Bundeswehr units… and it was still short on equipment.

If a high priority NATO tasked unit was short over 14,000 pieces of equipment, it calls into question how deep the rot in the Bundeswehr goes—and Germany’s commitment to the alliance.

Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national-security writer based in San Francisco who has appeared in The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War is Boring and The Daily Beast. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blog Japan Security Watch. You can follow him on Twitter: @KyleMizokami. This first appeared earlier and is being reposted due to reader interest.

Image: Reuters.

Source: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/why-germanys-military-weak-175152

The post Why Is Germany’s Military Weak? first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The country has managed to suppress the pandemic more than many of its neighbours and keep the death toll lower but the daily number of new cases leapt above 4,000 last week, with cases surging in big cities like Berlin and Frankfurt.

The government has warned of the situation spiralling out of control as local staff charged with tracing the contacts of infected people by phone are stretched thin by the growing number of cases.

About 1,300 soldiers were already supporting the civilian administration, a Defence Ministry spokesman said. The Bundeswehr was ready to detach up to 15,000 soldiers for this job if they were needed, he added.

The ministry had received 1,000 requests from local authorities for support.

The post Up to 15,000 German soldiers to support battle against pandemic first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

A new neo-Nazi scandal has erupted in the German military, this time in its Special Forces Command (KSK), according to the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

An officer in the elite military unit is strongly suspected of involvement in the right-wing extremist scene, the paper reported on Sunday.

Read more: Europe’s right-wing extremists try recruiting from police, army

Suspicions arose following a monthslong intelligence operation by the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD). The officer, who has served several tours of duty in Afghanistan, was being covertly investigated by the service after an informant tipped them off to the man’s activities.

MAD recommended that the officer be removed from the Special Forces Command immediately and barred from serving in the Bundeswehr. He is due to leave his post this week.

Two other soldiers in the Special Forces Command are also on the radar of Bundeswehr investigators for right-wing extremist activities.

The two men are accused of flashing the Nazi-era Hitler salute at a private party that was hosted by the suspected KSK officer.

Making the gesture and using other Nazi symbols is illegal in Germany.

One of the soldiers was suspended from duty a few weeks ago and is no longer allowed to wear a uniform, Bild am Sonntag reported. The other soldier is still under investigation.

Military has ‘responsibility’ to remove radicals

Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said the military is taking the cases “very, very seriously” and vowed tough action against extremists found in its ranks.

“Anyone in the Bundeswehr who appears to be a radical has no place in the Bundeswehr,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said Sunday during a visit to Kosovo.

She added that the Special Forces Command, in particular, has a “special responsibility to counter any tendency toward radicalism.”

KSK is particularly responsible for rescuing people who have been kidnapped, taken hostage or are facing terrorist threats abroad.

Pressure is mounting on the German military, with numerous soldiers in its ranks accused of right-wing extremism in recent months.

Christof Gramm, the head of MAD, recently reported that they are currently investigating 20 soldiers in the elite unit over suspected links to right-wing extremists.

Concerns over right-wing extremists or neo-Nazis within the ranks of the Bundeswehr heightened after an officer was accused in April 2017 of planning a far-right terror attack that he hoped would be mistaken for Islamist extremism.

rs/cmk (AFP, dpa)

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/neo-nazi-scandal-hits-german-elite-military-unit/a-51490089

The post Neo-Nazi scandal hits German elite military unit first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Germany’s long-understaffed army has a new plan to boost recruitment: allowing foreigners from other European Union countries to serve in the unified armed forces (Bundeswehr). The defense ministry confirmed on Saturday that it was seriously considering the idea.

“The Bundeswehr is growing. For this, we need qualified personnel,” a Defense Ministry spokesman told German news agency DPA.

SPD: No mercenary army

Speaking with local newspaper Augsburger Allegemeine, Social Democrat (SPD) defense expert Karl-Heinz Brunner said that he could imagine EU citizens serving in the Bundeswehr. But he warned that any soldier who fought for Germany must be promised citizenship.

“If citizens of other countries are accepted, without the promise of getting a German passport, the Bundeswehr risks becoming a mercenary army.”

In comments to the same publication, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) defense spokesman Florian Hahn said that “using the framework of European liberalism, a modern model could be developed here. However, a certain level of trust with every solider must be guaranteed.”

Germany’s army has had staffing issues together with problems such as outdated equipment, and lack of necessary supplies.

Proposals to increase the defense budget are extremely unpopular in Germany, especially considering the country’s history. The center-right CDU and their center-left coalition partners in the SPD have repeatedly been at loggerheads over defense spending.

es/jm (AFP, dpa)

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/german-army-mulls-recruiting-foreign-eu-nationals-to-boost-recruitment/a-44775125

The post German army mulls recruiting foreign EU nationals to boost recruitment first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen has put in a request for an increase to the military budget of €12 billion ($14.6 billion) over the current term of parliament, an amount greatly in excess of present budget plans, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

The Bild am Sonntag said Finance Minister Olaf Scholz had so far foreseen an increase in defense spending of just €5.5 billion over the four years to 2021. The Defense Ministry had already criticized Scholz’s plan on Friday as “inadequate in view of the huge accumulated needs and required modernization, particularly in the medium term.”

According to the paper, von der Leyen will threaten to stop at least one international armaments project scheduled for 2019 if the defense budget is not given a considerable boost. The first to go would be a planned submarine deal with Norway, followed by the purchase of six C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, according to Bild.

Read more: German military draws up €450 million wish list

Grave deficits 

Germany’s defense budget in 2017 was around €37 billion and is expected to reach €39 billion in 2018. Although that represents the ninth-highest defense budget in the world, it still falls far short of the 2 percent of national GDP that NATO would like to see.

Over the past few years, there has been growing criticism that the Bundeswehr is underequipped.

In February, the newspaper Rheinische Post cited an internal Bundeswehr paper stating that the army lacked the necessary basic equipment for its deployment in a NATO rapid reaction force.

Germany is to take over the leadership of the multinational Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) at the start of next year. The 5,000-strong force, which is supposed to be capable of reaching combat readiness in 24 hours, was initiated by NATO in 2014 to counter the threat of Russian military aggression against Baltic member states.

Read more: Transgender troops — how open is Germany’s army?

Source: http://www.dw.com/en/german-defense-minister-von-der-leyen-wants-12-billion-more-for-bundeswehr/a-43581186

The post German defense minister von der Leyen wants $12 Billon euros more for Bundeswehr first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

As criticism grows that Germany’s military hardware is fast becoming obsolete, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen will ask the government for a massive cash injection to update the Bundeswehr’s equipment.

According to a list obtained by two German newspapers, von der Leyen is requesting €450 million euros ($553 million) for 18 items. A Defense Ministry spokesman said the Bundeswehr would present its procurement requests to the Bundestag “soon.”

“We hope that the material situation of the Bundeswehr will be improved,” Defense Ministry spokesman Holger Neumann said at the government’s press conference on Monday.

Read more: US approves $2.5b drone sale to Germany

Part of the money is intended for upgrades to Germany’s Puma tanks and maintenance of its NH-90 helicopters. Money would also go toward a nine-year contract to lease Heron TP drones capable of carrying arms — all in all the cost of this deal will be €1 billion.

Read more: A guide to military drones

Plans for future

The coalition agreement signed between the conservatives and the Social Democrats in March sanctions the leasing of the Israeli drones as a stopgap measure until the development of an EU drone within the framework of the European Defence Union.

Read more: What Germany’s first armed drones could do

The coalition agreement foresees investments of €10 billion to modernize the Bundeswehr, but von der Leyen has said she doesn’t think that sum will be sufficient. The latest request for funds will have to be approved by the government when it draws up its budget for 2018.

Earlier this year, an internal Bundeswehr document that was leaked to the press questioned whether the German military was well enough equipped to fulfill its duties — a situation termed “scandalous” by members of the opposition.

Germany spent about €37 billion on defense in 2017 — the ninth-highest defense budget in the world. That sum is scheduled to increase to €39 billion in 2018. But German military spending falls far short of the 2 percent of national GDP targeted by NATO.

Source: http://www.dw.com/en/german-military-draws-up-450-million-euro-wish-list/a-43493661

The post German military draws up €450 million wish list first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.