Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg on Monday unveiled plans to restructure Germany’s armed forces in what is regarded as one of the most radical military shake-ups since the end of the Cold War.
The measures include ending conscription, reducing the Bundeswehr, or armed forces, to 163,000 from 250,000 and streamlining the command structures. The goal is to turn the military into a highly professional and flexible corps.
“The Bundeswehr will be smaller and more capable,” Mr. Guttenberg said in a brief statement after explaining his proposals to the parliamentary factions, adding that the final details would be worked out over the next few months. “This is now the beginning of a really important debate.”
So what will it look like?
Mr. Guttenberg hopes that by reducing the standing army by nearly 90,000 troops, he can find more and better-trained soldiers to serve in NATO or E.U. international missions.
Mr. Guttenberg said that at the moment, despite having such a large army, the armed forces could provide only up to 7,000 troops to serve in five missions at any given time.
Yet five years ago, the Defense Ministry set itself the goal of being able to draw on 14,000 soldiers from a pool of 70,000 well-trained troops.
“This level of ambition could not be reached,” Mr. Guttenberg said in a major speech he gave in April to the country’s top military academy in Hamburg.
The package of changes, which will include closing many of the 403 barracks as well as slimming down the 9 separate military commands, means that Mr. Guttenberg will be able to offer better pay and more incentives in order to attract more qualified recruits.
By: Brant
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