Farewell to an exceptional officer

On 23 September 2021, Vice Admiral Rainer Maria Brinkmann handed over command of the fleet and support forces to Rear Admiral Jan Christian Kaack at the Mürwik Naval Academy.

When someone says goodbye, they usually have a lot to say, or they are introverted at the moment of parting. Vice Admiral Brinkmann's "Golden Voyage", to which he invited selected reservists on the FULDA in Kiel on 7 September, contained both. His last official speech as Deputy Inspector and Commander of the Fleet and Support Forces on 23 September on the Admiral's Lawn at the Mürwik Naval Academy was, as expected, unforgettable. According to the Inspector of the Navy, Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schönbach, Brinkmann had set new standards with his rhetorical talent.
At the handover of office to Rear Admiral Jan Christian Kaack, Brinkmann emphasised the importance and necessity of a powerful, modernised navy and explained that, as an East Westphalian, the navy had been terra incognita for him. But it had made him discover the importance of family and friendship as a supporting anchor point. In the navy, he said, you are a wanderer between worlds, torn between despair and ecstasy, between frustration and fascination, between disappointment and enthusiasm. Brinkmann apostrophised episodes from his naval life to illustrate the diversity and fascination that the navy means to him.
After 45 years in the navy, Brinkmann was given a grand send-off at the MSM. Perhaps one day there will be a review of a book summarising his outstanding speeches in the marineforum. Then everyone will remember the stage-ready intonation that puts the icing on the cake of a good speech. One thing has come to light in today's thoroughly gendered way of speaking: without the sound effect of male voices, the world would probably go down the drain. Perhaps there will be a historical-tactical conference in the future that will refocus and revitalise the unfortunately increasingly fossilised, falsified naval humour. Go, olé, avanti, allez!

Author: Lieutenant Commander Jenny May-Barg M.A. is a journalist and film and television scholar.