Sea battalion under new leadership

On Tuesday, 27 September 2022 at 2 p.m., the commander of Operational Flotilla 1, Flotilla Admiral Henning Faltin (56), handed over command of the naval battalion from Frigate Captain Norman Bronsch (41) to Frigate Captain Patrick Steinbach (41).

Over the past two years, Frigate Captain Bronsch has led the soldiers of the sea battalion through a variety of activities and projects, to which he has actively added his personal touch. However, his time in command was also very much characterised by the Covid-19 pandemic - and thus always linked to the question of how the operational capability and morale of the sea battalion could be kept as high as possible during the pandemic. During his time as commander, the sea battalion deployed massive numbers of personnel to the population support platoons (ZUB) as part of the coronavirus relief effort. The vision of a battalion exercise involving all the forces of the unit was also realised under his leadership. Under the name "Green Valkyrie 2022", the current global political situation was addressed and the exercise focused on national and alliance defence. For frigate captain Steinbach, taking command represents the highlight of his military career to date. "I have been working towards this moment for over 20 years, knowing full well that I am now facing a very challenging task," said the new commander. Coming from the Hanseatic city of Rostock, Steinbach is now returning to Eckernförde, where he is no stranger due to several previous assignments in the battalion. Steinbach has clear goals for his upcoming time as commander. "In future, we will further strengthen our role in national and alliance defence. This will put us in an even better position to operate 'from land to sea - from sea to land'."