The Bundeswehr must be better equipped more quickly

The Annual Report 2024 of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces has been published

In the 2024 Annual Report, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Dr Eva Högl, calls for the following in view of the acute global threats and wars (Ukraine) "The Bundeswehr's personnel, material and infra-structural equipment must improve more quickly." Despite investments, including the 100 billion special fund, the structural reform of the Bundeswehr is progressing far too slowly. However, the Territorial Command and the Operational Command have been transferred to a joint Operational Command of the Bundeswehr, and CIR (Cyber and Information Space) has been established as the fourth branch of the armed forces.

In 2024, the Bundeswehr was once again in demand and called upon for international crisis management missions, including administrative assistance. The Navy was particularly challenged by its increased presence in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, where it assumed a NATO leadership role. In particular, the combat deployment of the frigate "Hessen" in the Red Sea (EUNAVFOR Aspides) is praised in detail.

However, the troops continue to suffer from a disastrous infrastructure, a lack of large equipment and spare parts and a serious shortage of personnel. Only the personal equipment of the soldiers, including protective waistcoats, special clothing or new shipboard and combat suits for the navy, has been carried out quickly, and the combat swimmers and mine divers from Eckernförde have finally received their diving training centre, according to the report. The personnel shortage is once again revealed. In December 2024, the number of personnel had fallen to 179,317 soldiers, the lowest level since 2018. Of 121,930 posts in the non-commissioned officer and officer categories, 24,258 (19.9 per cent) were not filled. Among the enlisted personnel, 12,654 (27.8 per cent) of 45,555 posts remained vacant. The force is also getting older and older. The average age has risen from 30.1 years in 2021 to 34 years.

In the navy, only 11,520 of 14,600 military posts were filled at the end of December 2024, a shortfall of 21 per cent. Among the crews of the frigates, the shortfall was 27.9 per cent. As in 2023, Högl welcomes the Navy's pilot projects as an alternative to the multi-crew model. In preparation for multidimensional combat, the multi-crew model on the ships has been cancelled in the meantime. In order to increase operational readiness, an increase in crew numbers and their basic commitment to the ships was determined.

The report once again points to excessive bureaucratisation, time-consuming administrative work and unnecessarily complex procurement processes in the armed forces. As an example, it cites pages of orders and directives that have been revised several times and are seemingly absurd in their depth of detail, regulating every conceivable detail of a simple matter. This is why the BMVg published the 2024 bureaucracy reduction agenda, which builds on the 2016 deregulation agenda to reduce bureaucracy in the armed forces. However, this shows how difficult (if not futile) it is to successfully combat the bureaucracy that is deeply rooted in the armed forces.

The 2024 annual report basically corresponds to the findings and problems of the previous year's report. Improvements are making slow progress. The personnel problem remains acute. However, the Bundeswehr's reputation has developed positively. Högl states: "The troops are currently more firmly and visibly at the centre of our society than they have been for decades. The "friendly disinterest" of the past has become an "interested friendliness"."

Text: Dieter Stockfisch

Photo: German Bundestag