Category: Magazine

On the way to joining the Marfor family

The DEU MARFOR command staff from the perspective of a young troop officer In a tectonically turbulent zone on the Italian coast is not only Mount Vesuvius, one of the most dangerous and notorious volcanoes on earth, but also an equally impressive NATO building. With its six floors and endlessly long corridors in almost every Western language, the Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Naples is equally impressive on a first visit. I am there as part of the Maritime Component Command (MCC) Liaison Cell, under the direction of our French counterpart FRMARFOR, planning the Steadfast Jupiter exercise. Together...

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Interview - "I'm not afraid of anything!"

Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schönbach has been inspector of the navy for six months now. marineforum had the opportunity to ask him about his impressions so far and his plans for the future of the navy. Admiral Schönbach, congratulations on your new position! Inspectors often stood for events in the mirror of time: Zenker stands for construction, Mann for dismantling and transition, your predecessor was the first inspector outside the BMVg - what do you wish for, what are you afraid of, what will you stand for one day? I am grateful for the great trust placed in me as Inspector of the Navy. How...

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Germany participates in Operation IRINI with the "Bonn"

On 1 September 2021, the task force provider left its home base in Wilhelmshaven to join Operation IRINI as part of the European Union Naval Forces Mediterranean (EUNAFVOR MED). The 220 soldiers on board include military police and an 11-strong boarding team from the sea battalion in Eckernförde. Two Sea Lynx helicopters will support the situation picture. A legal advisor from the Federal Ministry of Defence will contribute to the certainty of action in the event of an emergency. The team in Bonn's operational hospital will be reinforced by members of the German Air Force. The mandate for the EU-led crisis management operation was extended by the German Bundestag until 30 April 2022. The decision of 21 April...

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Abeking & Rasmussen - The art of shipbuilding

German shipyards have established themselves in lucrative niche markets with innovations and expertise. A visit to Abeking & Rasmussen in Lemwerder. Months ago, I wrote that a trip on the Lower Weser arouses the sailor's curiosity to take a look inside the halls that line the shore. There, where the names are emblazoned that you can read cast in brass on thousands of ships on all the world's oceans. It is a curiosity that is not just an interest in technology. It also triggers emotions, awakens memories and fuels the proverbial (Saint-Exupéry) longing for the sea. Or, as one shipbuilder told me...

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Career in the navy: Fresh cell cure 25s

Since the early 1990s, the Bundeswehr has been aligned with the changing security policy challenges. As part of this process, the number of naval posts has been reduced from around 30,000 to currently around 15,000, while the number of floating and airborne weapons systems has fallen from around 380 to around 110. At the same time, the intensity of naval operations has increased. It is currently involved in six international missions and mission-equivalent obligations and is supporting the national fight against the pandemic. The navy is also continuing its modernisation process. In order to do justice to this, the smallest navy of all time is therefore dependent on ensuring the operational readiness of its forces....

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