In light of growing international threats, the Bundeswehr adopted for the first time military strategy. It defines the future strategic direction of the armed forces Germany and analyzes how the Bundeswehr can counter potential threats.
"Rarely has a military strategy been as necessary as at this historical stage," said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) at the presentation of the strategy in Berlin. The world, he says, has become more unpredictable and at the same time more dangerous since then Rusija started a war against Ukraine. The international legal order, as the German minister adds, is widely called into question, writes DW.
Russian threat
The military strategy describes Russia as "the greatest and most immediate threat in the foreseeable future" to German and transatlantic security. "Russia is creating the conditions for a military attack on NATO countries."
After that, it analyzes how the Bundeswehr should react to conceivable war scenarios - for example, in the event of a Russian attack on the territory NATO. That information is confidential. "It goes without saying that we cannot make those scenarios public. Otherwise, we could add Vladimir Putin to our email list," stressed Boris Pistorius.
Personnel play a key role. The military strategy confirms the already known goal of the Bundeswehr – significant expansion. By the mid-2030s, a total of 460.000 soldiers should be available, of which 200.000 will be in reserve. The stated goal is to develop the Bundeswehr into the strongest conventional army in Europe – with the fastest possible growth by 2029, all in order to increase defense readiness.
The background of all this is the increase in demands that NATO places on its members when it comes to collective defense. Recruiting new staff is the biggest challenge, admitted Pistorius back in November, at the Bundeswehr conference.
More soldiers through a new recruitment system?
Thanks to intensive recruitment efforts, the Bundeswehr is indeed growing - but at a slow pace. At the end of March, the armed forces had approximately 185.400 active soldiers, 3.300 more than in March of the previous year.
The German minister has high expectations from the new system of military service, which was introduced at the beginning of the year. Through a combination of incentives and obligations, including mandatory medical examinations for all young men, the Bundeswehr is trying to attract more volunteers. If this is not successful, classic recruitment, which was suspended in 2011, could be returned. However, this is not currently under consideration, State Secretary of Defense Nils Hilmer emphasized at the presentation of the military strategy. "We are on the right track," he claims.
"Reserve strategy"
In addition to the military strategy, Defense Minister Pistorius also presented several additional, basic documents: "Capability Profile" describes what capabilities are necessary for the armed forces - what they must be able to do for successful national defense, but also "for deterrence and defense within the alliance", i.e. within NATO - for example, in the area of air defense.
The "reserve strategy" aims to ensure that around 200.000 reservists will be available by 2033 - they would be, as it was said, a kind of "link between the military and civil society". Their tasks would be primarily in the field of security of Germany itself, as well as logistics. The details of these two documents are also highly confidential.
Fighting bureaucracy in the Bundeswehr
The so-called "Debureaucratization and Modernization Agenda" deals with excessive bureaucracy in the Bundeswehr. Soldiers have to deal with a multitude of detailed regulations and forms of service. It takes both their time and energy.
The Ministry of Defense has reviewed the rules and intends to resolve the situation - with no less than 153 measures and 580 concrete implementation steps. "All internal rules will have a fixed expiry date," Pistorius announced. If after that date they are no longer considered useful, they will be automatically terminated. The "Bundeswehr digital wallet" will in the future contain all important personal documents of every member of the Bundeswehr.
Greater flexibility in strategic planning
All presented documents relating to the Bundeswehr share the following principle: they do not set rigid goals for a certain number of years, but are intended as "living documents" that can be continuously adapted - depending on how the strategic situation develops.
With its new strategy, the Bundeswehr is prescribing itself greater flexibility than ever before – and in a sense, a new mentality. "We want to move away from old, rigid thinking," Defense Minister Pistorius emphasized.
Ulrich Toden, spokesman for the defense policy of the parliamentary group of the opposition Left, assessed that the military strategy is "logical and necessary in light of the real threat posed by Russia's aggressive policy." He added, however, that it is not necessary for Germany to "become a great military power".
