COMMENTARY:
· The
article below suggests that the German armed forces are not deficient in
personnel quality or organizational soundness, but rather they have been
heavily used in CoIn/nation-building interventions, mostly in the ME and like
the other major NATO militaries are incapable of fighting a formidable opponent
like the Russian Army. As a result, German training and readiness for
conventional combat operations has been neglected. Meanwhile, German Army
and AF material readiness has declined. German stocks of guided munitions
are minimal, and the German Army’s ability to develop, integrate, and
operationally sustain advanced systems has declined since their peak during the
Kohl era. The navy has some good systems, but in very meager numbers, and
the Navy has trouble recruiting enough personnel.
· If
this is the condition in Germany, which is the conventional military backbone
of European NATO, the situation across the alliance is extremely serious.
France’s conventional forces are too light, and even more over-extended
abroad, as are Britain’s. Both Britain and France have shrunk to
marginal capability in several areas.
· The Polish military is tough and determined, but deficient
in modern capabilities. The Greeks are fixated on their own
internal problems and the Turks are hardly reliable allies given their active
support for ISIS and the Sunni Islamist cause. Mr. Erdogan’s neo-Ottoman
revival points to an uncertain future for Turkey in NATO.
· What’s
left? The U.S. Army lacks the military
strength, the warfighting focus, let alone the ready, deployable combat
formations to assist East European allies defend Eastern Europe.
Instead of addressing these deficiencies through reorganization,
modernization and reform, the U.S. Army is betting on the Russian Army’s lack
of logistical endurance/sustainment and the Russian Army’s limited number of
ready, front-line units. That’s a slender reed from which to suspend
Eastern Europe’s security.
Doug Macgregor
German Military
Called 'Overstretched, Underfunded’
By Agence France-Presse
6:21
p.m. EST January 26, 2016
BERLIN — Germany's military is overstretched and underfunded as its troops are engaged in anti-jihadist missions from Syria and Afghanistan to Mali while also aiding refugees at home, the defense commissioner said Tuesday, according to Agence France-Presse.
Plagued by a series of defense equipment failures, the military is "at a crossroads" and has reached "the limit of its capacity for interventions," said Hans-Peter Bartels.
Founded in 1955, the Bundeswehr had a peak force of 600,000 at the end of the Cold War when West Germany conscripted young men, and has since shrunk to a 177,000-strong volunteer force.
"The force is tired. Too much is lacking," said Bartels, a center-left Social Democrat lawmaker, demanding a significant budget increase in his annual report.
Systemic budget shortages now endanger training, military exercises and missions, while many barracks are crumbling, said Bartels, known in Berlin as "the soldiers' attorney."
Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen has pledged a greater role for Germany in international crisis fighting, marking a shift for post-World War II Germany which has long been reluctant to send troops abroad for combat missions.
According to press reports on Tuesday, relying on government sources, the German MoD is preparing a steep increase in investment in weapons and material over the coming years. The plan is to spend bln €130 billion (US $140.6 billion) until 2030 on equipment and research and development.
While the MoD did not comment, Tobias Linder, MP for the Green Party in the Bundestag and member of the budget committee, said this means an extra €50 in that period and the cancellation of caps for main weapon systems that were introduced by von der Leyen`s predecessor.
Lindner said the MoD should solve the current problems of low equipment availability rates and poor maintenance before buying new weapons, while the procurement organization is hampered by inefficiencies and management problems.
German forces are currently engaged in the international alliance against the Islamic State group, including arming and training Kurdish forces in northern Iraq and flying reconnaissance missions over Syria with Tornado jets.
German lawmakers in December authorized the deployment of up to 1,200 personnel for the operation, which also includes an A310 aerial refuelling plane and a frigate to help guard the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Mediterranean.
Berlin also plans to send an additional 500 troops to Mali to relieve French forces in the west African country, where Germany is already part of an EU military training mission.
The engagements come as the German Army has been plagued by a series of equipment failures.
It is phasing out the G36 assault rifle after reports it has failed to shoot straight at high temperatures. Its Tornado surveillance aircraft cannot fly night missions because of a glare problem involving cockpit displays and pilots' goggles.
And across its fleet of fighter jets, helicopters and Transall C-160 transport aircraft, it is falling short of its target of 70 percent operational readiness, said the report.
BERLIN — Germany's military is overstretched and underfunded as its troops are engaged in anti-jihadist missions from Syria and Afghanistan to Mali while also aiding refugees at home, the defense commissioner said Tuesday, according to Agence France-Presse.
Plagued by a series of defense equipment failures, the military is "at a crossroads" and has reached "the limit of its capacity for interventions," said Hans-Peter Bartels.
Founded in 1955, the Bundeswehr had a peak force of 600,000 at the end of the Cold War when West Germany conscripted young men, and has since shrunk to a 177,000-strong volunteer force.
"The force is tired. Too much is lacking," said Bartels, a center-left Social Democrat lawmaker, demanding a significant budget increase in his annual report.
Systemic budget shortages now endanger training, military exercises and missions, while many barracks are crumbling, said Bartels, known in Berlin as "the soldiers' attorney."
Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen has pledged a greater role for Germany in international crisis fighting, marking a shift for post-World War II Germany which has long been reluctant to send troops abroad for combat missions.
According to press reports on Tuesday, relying on government sources, the German MoD is preparing a steep increase in investment in weapons and material over the coming years. The plan is to spend bln €130 billion (US $140.6 billion) until 2030 on equipment and research and development.
While the MoD did not comment, Tobias Linder, MP for the Green Party in the Bundestag and member of the budget committee, said this means an extra €50 in that period and the cancellation of caps for main weapon systems that were introduced by von der Leyen`s predecessor.
Lindner said the MoD should solve the current problems of low equipment availability rates and poor maintenance before buying new weapons, while the procurement organization is hampered by inefficiencies and management problems.
German forces are currently engaged in the international alliance against the Islamic State group, including arming and training Kurdish forces in northern Iraq and flying reconnaissance missions over Syria with Tornado jets.
German lawmakers in December authorized the deployment of up to 1,200 personnel for the operation, which also includes an A310 aerial refuelling plane and a frigate to help guard the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Mediterranean.
Berlin also plans to send an additional 500 troops to Mali to relieve French forces in the west African country, where Germany is already part of an EU military training mission.
The engagements come as the German Army has been plagued by a series of equipment failures.
It is phasing out the G36 assault rifle after reports it has failed to shoot straight at high temperatures. Its Tornado surveillance aircraft cannot fly night missions because of a glare problem involving cockpit displays and pilots' goggles.
And across its fleet of fighter jets, helicopters and Transall C-160 transport aircraft, it is falling short of its target of 70 percent operational readiness, said the report.
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