vDefense Minister Boris Pistorius wants to strengthen the Bundeswehr's defense capability with a unified operational command. In addition, the Bundeswehr will be reorganized into four branches of the armed forces with a joint support command, the SPD politician announced on Thursday in Berlin when presenting the new structure. In addition to the army, the air force and the navy, the four branches of the armed forces are now also the force for cyber and information space (CIR). This specializes in electronic warfare and cyber operations, reconnaissance and the protection of electronic infrastructure. The joint command is intended to become the central contact point for NATO, the federal states and for organizations such as the THW. The “groundbreaking reform” is about making responsibilities clearer. The new structure was developed without expensive external consulting contracts.
The aim is to “restructure the Bundeswehr in such a way that it is optimally positioned even in the event of an emergency, in the event of defense, in the event of war,” said Pistorius. He referred to the increased threat situation in Europe and also repeated the goal, the Bundeswehr to make it “war-ready”. Germany and its allies must provide a credible deterrent so that no one comes up with the idea of “attacking us as a NATO territory,” emphasized the minister. Pistorius spoke of a “signal of departure” for a reform of the Bundeswehr. The most important decisions should already be made “in to be implemented in the next few months”.
“We have considered that compulsory military service will be reintroduced,” emphasized Pistorius. However, the new structure could remain in place even if compulsory military service is not reintroduced. He expects that an overview of the possible models will be presented in April . Then the political discussions begin. Pistorius had initiated a debate about the reintroduction of compulsory military service. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) expressed skepticism, and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) expressed negative views.
Personnel problem not yet resolved
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.
In November last year, at the Bundeswehr conference, Pistorius proclaimed “warworthiness as a maxim for action” in new defense policy guidelines. He said that Inspector General Carsten Breuer and a state secretary should also look at the structures of the Bundeswehr itself and explicitly also at command commands. Pistorius wants to take action against double structures that hinder and hold each other back.
Another major construction site now remains the personnel of the Bundeswehr and the question of whether Germany could introduce general compulsory military service after the suspension of compulsory military service. Pistorius has models tested and is based on practice in Scandinavian countries. 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.