The army lacks boats, planes and tanks but also education and training. As for the barracks,they are in a terrible state all over the country“: dilapidated apartments, broken toilets, poorly cleaned showers, non-existent gyms… and not always a wifi connection…
Eva Högl, the parliamentary commissioner of the army, who is in a way the lawyer of the military, put his feet in the dish on Tuesday by presenting his annual report.
“Unserer Kasernen sind landauf, landab in einem erbärmlichen Zustand.“ – Wehrbeauftragte @EvaHoegl über die schlechte Infrastruktur bei der Bundeswehr. Oft gebe es nicht einmal WLAN. pic.twitter.com/Dzvq2k11sH
— Bericht aus Berlin (@ARD_BaB) March 14, 2023
And the problem is that of the 100 billion euros promised in February 2022 to correct years of underinvestment… “not a penny” she says, “has arrived” to the soldiers.
9 years to place an order for equipment
Blame it on the bureaucracy… An example taken from this report: to buy parachute equipment, it took almost everything. 9 years. Not 9 weeks, not 9 months… 9 years. And this is not an isolated case. For what ? Because under the German Constitution, purchases are managed by an administration separate from the army, which happens to be completely disconnected from the realities on the ground.
[ ALLEMAGNE ]
The German Defense Ministry has announced an order for F-35 stealth fighters and CH-47F helicopters from the United States. pic.twitter.com/4pl6wa0ZRL
— (Little) Think Tank (@L_ThinkTank) November 12, 2022
The special fund of 100 billion euros does not obey the same rules but here too the processes are long… 30 billion have already been earmarked for the purchase of F-35s, but these American fighter planes will not be delivered before 2026.
300 billion euros
In other words, not all the equipment sent to Ukraine is ready to be replaced. For the commissioner, it’s simple, it will take 7 to 10 years for the Bundeswehr to be operational again.
Ukraine received two more Gepard installations from Germany
– Bundeswehr website.In addition, 6,000 rounds of ammunition were supplied to the installations. A total of 34 such machines have already been delivered. pic.twitter.com/TPG3NcYNKE
— Lecomte CTRL+Z (@Eric_Lecomte_) March 8, 2023
And the government will have to lengthen. At least 300 billion euros in total.
Berlin is in the process of realizing that the paradigm shift in its defense policy will not happen overnight.
16% of vacancies
Especially since these difficulties have an impact on the attractiveness of the German army: candidates for the profession of soldier are less numerous each year… 18,000 positions are not filled, that is almost 16% of the workforce – even in supposed fields such as IT or cybersecurity. And when the recruits take the plunge, many slam the door after six months… in the army, it concerns 3 out of 10 soldiers. compulsory military service, abolished in 2011.