The clothing worn by soldiers or police officers is the embodiment of state power. It represents the monopoly on the use of force, combatant status and the right of enforcement. The uniform documents the actions of the actors, whether customs or coast guard. It needs to be recognisable so that the projected authority is also accepted. With civilian variants - I'm thinking of the railway...

"A picture is worth a thousand words..." Comment on the cover picture Marineforum issue 05/2021 Anyone who deals with press relations and in particular with the use of print media is already taught in the first lessons that good writing, a clear message or well-researched reporting are the basis of success....

Berlin, the Navy & Procurement The year 2021 continues to promise excitement: in the second year of a global pandemic, there are signs of noticeable change and transformation in the political firmament of the republic in view of the upcoming Bundestag elections in September. It is understandable that Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and the Federal Ministry of Defence (BMVg) are endeavouring to...

Naming barracks and giving names in the navy ... The incidents in the Bundeswehr, which are still associated with Pfullendorf, Illkirch, the KSK and right-wing extremists, led to the 2018 Traditions Decree (https://www.bmvg.de/de/aktuelles/der-neue-traditionserlass-23232) in 2017, partly as a result of the "Franco A. case". The associated order to the troops could not be honoured by the navy - although...

Counterpoint to the article "Improve operational capability!" in MarineForum 3-2021. The bureaucratisation in the military administration and troops mentioned by the author of the article is undeniable. Therefore, approaches to examine the existing processes in procurement and the use of defence equipment in terms of their usefulness and efficiency are to be welcomed in principle. In the above-mentioned article...

In spring, it was time again for the annual report of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces to provide the interested community with reading material and many new and old insights into the operational readiness of the German armed forces. In issue 04-2021 of the Marineforum, we read about the findings of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högl, for the 2020 reporting year with...

It was 25 years ago these days that the German Navy evacuated the German Somalia Support Unit from Mogadishu. This army unit had previously supported the United Nations Operation UNOSOM II in Somalia. It was the first major foreign deployment for the army, which came to an abrupt end when the...

Excerpts from the "Preliminary conceptual guidelines for the future capability profile of the Bundeswehr", which is to be adopted vis-à-vis NATO by 2032 (F.A.Z. PLUS article "Up to the stars" from 18 April), are rushing through the press. This is a non-binding declaration of intent; nonetheless, it leads to a - justifiable -...

On Friday 13 May, five representatives from the Australian Ministry of Defence and 11 German representatives from TKMS, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Federal Foreign Office met in Kiel for a debriefing on the outcome of the Australian submarine deal. At the debriefing, the Australian delegation wanted to explain to the representatives of the German...

The German Navy is pooling its infantry forces in a new but historically unprecedented organisation! As a result of the realignment of the Bundeswehr decided in 2010, the specialised infantry forces of the German Navy will be combined in a naval battalion from 1 April 2014. Specifically, this involves the naval protection forces, the boarding forces and...

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