Order of the day from the Inspector General

General Eberhard Zorn prepares troops for far-reaching changes

In view of Russian President Vladimir Putin's ruthless war of aggression against Ukraine, he sees a new reality. Zorn has redefined his priorities: less coronavirus administrative assistance, more reinforcement of NATO's eastern flank and a focus on so-called "basic operations" such as ammunition depots, medical, logistics and command and control facilities. The soldiers would be needed more for national and alliance defence.

In an interview on "heute journal" on Monday, Zorn commented on Putin's statements about the nuclear forces. He considers them relevant, but not immediately worrying. "We take this statement seriously," he said on ZDF. "We are of course using our resources to monitor what is going on." There is also a close dialogue within NATO. "However, I cannot yet see anywhere that alert measures have actually been implemented in any form and that we have to assume that there is a concrete threat in practice," emphasised Zorn.

Read the command of the day in full:

Soldiers and civilian employees,
Reservists!

We are living in times of global political upheaval. The Russian president's ruthless war of aggression against Ukraine has created a new reality that will profoundly change our society and also the Bundeswehr.

The transatlantic community of values has reacted with outstanding unity to this blatant breach of international law. The NATO allies have granted the Supreme Commander of NATO forces in Europe the necessary freedom of action to respond to the unprecedented Russian aggression. The EU has adopted far-reaching sanctions that essentially target the Russian financial system.

In addition to the activation of regional defence plans along the eastern flank, the readiness to deploy the NATO Response Force (NRFNATO Response Force) has been significantly shortened. The first units will be deployed shortly. Our NRFNATO Response Force units are also prepared to reinforce the eastern flank.

In Lithuania we have our Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup We have increased our presence in Romania by around 350 soldiers. We have doubled and extended our commitment in Romania. We are now deploying six Eurofighter in the Air Policing South a. We have added a corvette to NATO's permanent maritime task force in the Baltic Sea. With a fleet service boat, the deployment of Tornado reconnaissance jets and P3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft as well as a minehunting boat, we will contribute to the consolidation of the situation picture.

In addition, Germany will actively participate in the establishment of an additional combat unit in Slovakia with infantry and air defence forces. We are also examining measures to protect Polish airspace and additional reinforcements of the forces in Lithuania with light air defence and naval infantry forces.

All forces are reinforced and supported by units from the armed forces base, the medical service and the Cyber and information space.

Basic operations are of particular importance in this tense situation. Ammunition depots, medical, logistics and command facilities, situation centres and many others support the short-term implementation of all these comprehensive measures. As the "hub" for our allies' marching movements, Germany is tying up the territorial organisation, our civilian employees and our reservists in particular.

We will therefore significantly reduce our contingent in the Corona administrative assistance programme. These soldiers are needed for the core mission of national and alliance defence. Training gaps caused by the pandemic must be closed immediately.

The mandated foreign missions continue and I encourage all soldiers on deployment to continue their mission with the usual professionalism.

All in all, I note that the Bundeswehr has quickly provided additional forces in all dimensions for deterrence on the eastern flank and will continue to do so if required. In doing so, we are sending a clear signal of unwavering alliance solidarity to our NATO partners, but also and especially to Russia.

Following the German government's decision at the weekend, we will support the Ukrainian armed forces not only with military equipment, but also with weapons.

Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014 in violation of international law, we have refocused the Bundeswehr on its core mission of national and alliance defence. In a ground-breaking and historic step, the Federal Chancellor announced a comprehensive funding package in the German Bundestag on 27 February 2022, consisting of a one-off special fund of 100 billion euros and an increase in the defence budget to more than two percent of gross domestic product on an ongoing basis.

This will create the basic prerequisite for the Bundeswehr to be able to fulfil its mission and tasks and enable the secure provision of the necessary capabilities across the entire range of military obligations. In this way, we will also fulfil our commitments to our partners and allies in the EU and NATO as well as the expectations placed on Germany as a leading nation.

The backbone of the Bundeswehr must once again be fully equipped armed forces that can be deployed from a standing start and are capable of high-intensity combat operations within NATO and the EU. But money is not everything. At the same time, we must reduce bureaucratic hurdles, modernise structures and take measures to quickly and visibly increase the operational readiness of the troops in the field. This also includes making the relevant command procedures and processes effective, standardised and interoperable both nationally and multinationally.

You can rely on the men and women of the Bundeswehr, no ifs, ands or buts. We have impressively demonstrated our capabilities and alliance solidarity in recent days and weeks. This is above all thanks to your courageous commitment. In an exemplary manner, you are demonstrating precisely that Mindset that we need in the face of war in Europe. I have great respect for this achievement and thank you for your commitment!

My thoughts at this moment are also with the people of Ukraine and with the Ukrainian armed forces who, under the leadership of their courageous government, are fighting not only for the democratic and free future of their country, but also for our European values.

In these difficult times, we stand together. Each and every one of us counts in the fight for peace.

Eberhard Zorn
General

ntv.de, fzö/dpa/AFP/Bundeswehr.de