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The Bundeswehr (Federal Defense Force, ) is the organization that controls and administers the armed forces of Germany.
General information The Bundeswehr is a federal defence force with Army (Heer), Navy (Marine), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Service Support Command (Streitkräftebasis), and Central Medical Services (Zentraler Sanitätsdienst) branches. The Bundeswehr has some 250,000 military personnel, 50,000 of whom are 18 to 25 year-old conscripts who serve for at least nine months under current rules. The number of civilian employees is to be reduced to 75,000 during the coming years. Women have served in the medical service since 1975. In 2000, in a lawsuit brought up by Tanja Kreil, the European Court of Justice issued a ruling allowing women to serve in more roles than previously allowed. Since 2001 they can serve in all functions of service without restriction, but they are not subject to conscription. There are presently around 13,000 women on active duty and a number of female reservists who take part in all duties including peacekeeping missions and other operations. The Cold War period 1955-1990
Unification of West and East Germany 1990 After reunification in 1990, the Bundeswehr was reduced to 370,000 military personnel in accordance with the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany between the two German governments and the Allies (2+4 Treaty). The former East German Nationale Volksarmee (NVA) was disbanded. A small portion of its personnel and material were absorbed into the Bundeswehr. About 50,000 Volksarmee personnel were integrated into the Bundeswehr on 2 October 1990. This figure was rapidly reduced as conscripts and short-term volunteers completed their service. A number of senior officers (but no generals or admirals) received limited contracts for up to two years to continue daily operations. Personnel remaining in the Bundeswehr were awarded new contracts and new Bundeswehr ranks, dependent on their individual qualification and experience. Many received and accepted a lower rank than previously held in the Volksarmee. These were seen as demotions by critics. In general, the unification process of the military - under the slogan "Armee der Einheit"/"Army of Unity" - is publicly seen as a major success and an example for other parts of the society. With the reduction, a large amount of the military hardware of the Bundeswehr, as well as of the Volksarmee, had to be disposed of. A majority of armored vehicles and fighter jet aircraft were dismantled under international disarmament procedures. Ships were scrapped or sold, often to the Baltic states and Indonesia, the latter receiving 39 former Volksmarine vessels of various types. Mission The role of the Bundeswehr is described in the German Basic Law (Art. 87a) as defensive only. After 1990, the international situation had changed from East-West-confrontation to general uncertainty and instability. Today, after a ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court in 1994 the term defence has been defined to not only include protection of the borders of Germany, but also crisis reaction and conflict prevention - or more broadly as guarding the security of Germany anywhere in the world. According to the definition given by former Defence Minister Struck, it may be necessary to defend Germany even at the Hindu Kush. This requires the Bundeswehr to take part in operations outside of the borders of Germany, as part of NATO or the European Union and mandated by the UN. Organization and command structure With the growing number of missions abroad it was recognized that the Bundeswehr required a totally new command structure. A reform commission under the chairmanship of the former Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker presented its recommendations in spring 2000. In October 2000 the Joint Service Support Command, the Streitkräftebasis, was established to concentrate logistics and other supporting functions such as military police and communications under one command. Medical support was reorganized with the establishment of the Central Medical Services. The combat forces of the Army are organized into 5 combat divisions and also participates in multi-national command structures at the corps level. There are 3 divisions in the Air Force and 2 flotillas in the Navy. The Central Medical Services and the Joint Service Support Command are each organized into four regional commands. All of these services also have general commands for training, procurement, and other general issues. The Joint Service Support Command and the Central Medical Services are both organized in four regional commands of identical shape. The minister of defense or the chancellor is supported by the Chief of defense (CHOD, Generalinspekteur) and the service chiefs (Inspekteure) and their respective staffs in his or her function as commander-in-chief. The CHOD and the service chiefs form the Military Command Council (Militärischer Führungsrat) with functions similar to those of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the United States. Subordinate to the CHOD is the Armed Forces Operational Command (Einsatzführungskommando). For smaller missions one of the service HQs (e.g. the Fleet Command) exercise command and control of German armed forces on missions abroad. The Bundeswehr in general is still among the world's most technologically advanced and well-supplied militaries, as befits Germany's overall economic prosperity and infrastructure. Its budget is, however, steadily shrinking and among the lowest military budgets in NATO in terms of share of GDP. Operations Since the early 1990s the Bundeswehr has become more and more engaged in international operations in and around the former Yugoslavia, and also in other parts of the world like Cambodia or Somalia. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, German forces were employed in most related theaters except Iraq. Currently there are Bundeswehr forces in: In support of Allied stabilization efforts in Iraq, the Bundeswehr is also training the new Iraqi forces in locations outside Iraq, such as the United Arab Emirates and Germany. Traditions Former German military organizations have been the Reichswehr (1921-1935) and the Wehrmacht (1935-1945). The Bundeswehr, however, does not consider itself as their successor and does not follow the traditions of any former German military organization. The official Bundeswehr traditions are based on three major subjects: As its symbol the Bundeswehr uses a form of the Iron Cross. The Iron Cross has a long history, having been awarded as a military war time decoration for all ranks since 1813, and earlier associated with the Teutonic knights. The name Bundeswehr was proposed by the former Wehrmacht general and liberal politician Hasso von Manteuffel. One of the most visible traditions is the Großer Zapfenstreich, a form of military tattoo that goes back to the landsknecht era. See also | ||||||||||
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