German Defence Minister Presents Draft Reform Plans for Armed Forces

09:28 GMT, August 25, 2010 defpro.com | In a major effort to meet the required budget savings called for by the German government, Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg on Monday presented the Ministry’s draft plans to reform the German Armed Forces’ structure. Although the draft plans comprise five different models, the Defence Minister pointed out his preferred approach. According to this model, the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) will be reduced by about one-third of its present force, from 252,000 down to 163,500 soldiers, over the next few years. A significant element of this plan calls for suspending conscription in the short term, which is being hotly debated throughout the nation and even within the ranks of the conservative-liberal administration.

The public debate about conscription is not new. However, only recently, since the financial and economic crisis led to significant budget cuts, has it been linked to saving money and went beyond the point of equity (approximately only 16 per cent of an age-group is being drafted) and other general considerations. Despite the Minister’s plans to suspend conscription, he emphasised that it will retain its place in the constitution, as it may be again needed in the future. Zu Guttenberg stated during a Monday press conference: “I’m always surprised by one or the other wise guy who knows how the world will look in 20 or 30 years. I don’t know. And therefore, I think that we also need to have the possibility to draft young people, should it be required in the future.”

Despite the challenges which the Bundeswehr will encounter when abandoning conscription, the Defence Minister is convinced that the Armed Forces will become more effective after having been restructured. “By the end of the year it ought to become clear that the Bundeswehr will become smaller, but better,” zu Guttenberg stated. But will the Bundeswehr prove itself capable of becoming ‘lean and mean’, although it already reached its force limits, being committed to various military operations around the globe, including demanding operations such as in Afghanistan? The current structures have already proven to be inefficient in providing deployed troops in time and in the amount required with adequate equipment to fulfil their tasks properly and safely.

Both the last as well as the present Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces have repeatedly expressed serious criticism of the equipment available to German troops in Afghanistan. However, this criticism remained more or less unheard by the Ministry of Defence until the unfortunate death of seven German soldiers within only a few days in April. And even after these incidents, the criticism of Hellmut Königshaus, the current Parliamentary Commissioner who said that the equipment of the Bundeswehr in Afghanistan is a “drama”, was rejected by the Defence Ministry.

Despite its responsibility for those soldiers deployed around the globe and the repeated calls for an effective reform of the Bundeswehr’s structures, which has been heard for decades, the Defence Ministry proves that it takes significant financial restrictions until restructuring is seriously being considered. After all, the Defence Ministry has been asked to save some € 8,3 billion by 2014.

Now the Defence Ministry has embarked on a political path that may lead to a new era for the German Armed Forces. The Bundeswehr might see itself reduced to a professional standing army of 156,000 soldiers. The intended overall force of 163,500 soldiers will be reached by zu Guttenberg’s idea of offering a voluntary military service for a period of 12 to 23 months. It will have the character of a “try-out” service from which the professional army will principally recruit new members. The Defence Minister anticipates that up to 7,500 young men and women will step up to the plate to voluntarily serve their country. While being aware of the deficits of compulsory military service during past years, the Defence Minister emphasised that he trusts in the motto “Do something for your country.” In his press statement, zu Guttenberg stated: “This embraces the principle that it has never caused harm to any young person to render a service to society.”

However, it is not with these kind of appeals that the Minister will increase the attractiveness of choosing to sacrifice one year or more and, thereby, staying out of the very competitive training and job market. According to Financial Times Deutschland, even the Chief of Staff of the Bundeswehr, General Volker Wieker, expressed his doubts about this approach, saying that this plan is too optimistic.

Another problem, which the Defence Ministry by nature doesn’t give enough consideration to, is the future of alternative service, closely linked to compulsory military service. Should compulsory conscription be suspended for a certain period of time, this will mean that up to 90,000 jobs in hospitals, nursing homes and many more civilian institutions will have to be staffed by fully employed persons. Not that this couldn’t possibly have a positive effect on the job market; however, these institutions are not know for being excessively funded and already increasingly employ fewer people for the same amount of work to save costs. In order to respond to such a scenario, Family Minister Kristina Schroeder proposed, on Monday, to introduce a national voluntary community service. Yet, this service will have the same problems as military service if it leads to loitering away indispensable time on the job market.

As announced by zu Guttenberg, the Defence Ministry will now discuss its draft plans with the political parties and parliamentary groups to find a common solution and to implement an effective restructuring plan as soon as possible. With all the criticism already coming from within the administration’s ranks as well as from the opposition, it remains to be seen how far the current plans will be watered down by compromises to meet all concerns and political interests.

Although zu Guttenberg emphasised that there will be “no reform dependent of the cash position,” security political concerns appear to be reduced to an absolute minimum in light of the enormous budget reduction which the Bundeswehr faces. This assumption is being supported by former Chief of Staff and Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, General (rtd.) Harald Kujat, who said in an interview that the Bundeswehr is being financially starved to death. Kujat recently told the German news service tagesschau.de: “We have heard a number of figures: We know that we have to save money and that, therefore, the size of the Bundeswehr has to be reduced. That is not security-political thinking; it is a cost saving debate. And it is not a responsible defence policy; it is algebra.”

Referring to the planned strength of the Bundeswehr, Kujat further said: “In my opinion, the amount of soldiers stated by the Defence Minister is too narrowly considered. The commitments within the Alliance cannot be met that way. After all, we are the second largest country in NATO and the largest in Europe.”

Kujat concludes that the Bundeswehr will become smaller but not better. In light of inevitable budget costs, even supporters of the compulsory conscription, such as Kujat, acknowledge that it cannot be sustained in its present form. However, many claim that, once being suspended, even if remaining in the constitution this will be the end of compulsory conscription in Germany.

Whether a reduction of the Bundeswehr’s strength (along with all required changes to its complex present structure, and while continuing to fulfil its international commitments) can save more than eight billion Euros by 2014 remains arguable. It certainly is a further aspect by which the work of the current administration will be measured in the future – an administration which has already lost its majority in opinion polls in less than one year of power.


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By Nicolas von Kospoth, Managing Editor