For the first time in its history, Bundeswehr (Germany’s army) receives a military strategy. This is intended to prepare the army and Germany for future threats. Many parts of the document are classified.
In the context of increasing international threats, Bundeswehr has adopted, for the first time, a military strategy. This sets the future strategic orientation of the armed forces in Germany and analyzes how Bundeswehr can address possible threats.
"Rarely has a military strategy been as necessary as in this historic phase," said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) at the presentation of the strategy in Berlin. The world has become more unpredictable and dangerous since Russia has been waging war against Ukraine, and the international legal order is massively called into question.
Russian Threat
The military strategy describes Russia as "the greatest and most immediate foreseeable threat" to German and transatlantic security. "Russia is creating the conditions for a military attack on NATO states."
Furthermore, the document analyzes how Bundeswehr should react to possible war scenarios - for example, in the case of a Russian attack on NATO territory.
This information is classified. "It goes without saying that we cannot make these scenarios public. Otherwise, we could include Vladimir Putin in our email distribution list," emphasized Boris Pistorius.
A key role is played by personnel issues. The military strategy reaffirms the already known objective of significantly expanding Bundeswehr. In total, by the mid-2030s, 460,000 soldiers should be available, of which 200,000 for reserve.
The stated goal is to transform Bundeswehr into the most powerful conventional army in Europe - by 2029, with as rapid growth as possible to enhance defense capability.
The context is represented by the increased requirements that NATO imposes on member states within collective defense. Recruiting this number of personnel is the biggest challenge, Pistorius acknowledged at the Bundeswehr conference in November.
More Personnel Through a New Military Service?
Due to an intensive recruitment campaign, Bundeswehr is indeed growing, albeit slowly. At the end of March, the army had approximately 185,400 active soldiers, 3,300 more than in March last year.
Pistorius has high hopes for the new military service introduced earlier this year. Through a combination of incentives and obligations, including mandatory medical examination of all young men, Bundeswehr aims to attract more volunteers.
If this fails, the suspended compulsory military service in 2011 could be reinstated.
However, this issue is not currently on the agenda, emphasized State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense, Nils Hilmer, at the presentation of the military strategy. "We are on the right track."
"Reserve Strategy"
In addition to the military strategy, Defense Minister Pistorius presented several principle documents. The "Capabilities Profile" describes the essential capabilities required for the armed forces - what they need to be able to do for effective national defense, but also "for deterrence and defense within the alliance," meaning in NATO, for example in the field of air defense.
The "Reserve Strategy" is intended to ensure that by 2033, just over 200,000 reservists will be available - as a "link between the military and civilian society." Their tasks focus primarily on territorial defense and logistics. The details of these two documents are also largely classified.
Hundreds of Measures Against Bureaucracy in Bundeswehr
The so-called "Debureaucratization and Modernization Agenda" aims to combat excessive bureaucracy in Bundeswehr. Soldiers have to deal with a large number of detailed service regulations and forms. This consumes time and energy.
The Ministry of Defense has thoroughly analyzed existing rules and intends to address the situation - through no less than 153 measures and 580 concrete implementation steps.
"All internal rules will receive a fixed expiration date," announced Pistorius. If they are no longer deemed useful, they will be automatically eliminated. Additionally, a so-called "Bundeswehr Wallet," a digital wallet, will contain all important personal documents of each Bundeswehr member in the future.
More Flexibility in Strategic Planning
For all documents presented for Bundeswehr, the same principle applies: they do not set rigid objectives for a specific number of years but are designed as "living documents" that can be continuously adapted based on the evolving strategic situation.
Through its new strategy, Bundeswehr imposes more flexibility than ever before and, to a certain extent, a new mindset. "We want to abandon the old compartmentalized way of thinking," emphasized Defense Minister Pistorius.
From the opposition, the spokesperson for the Left Party's parliamentary group on defense policy issues, Ulrich Thoden, intervened. He described the military strategy as "logical and necessary, given the real threat situation generated by Russia's aggressive policy."
However, he added, it is not necessary for Germany "to aim to become a major military power."