What will these crazy Germans dream up next?
Germany’s defense minister overhauls the military command as he seeks ‘war-capable’ armed forces – Germany’s defense minister has announced a plan to streamline and reorganize the country’s military command as part of efforts to make the armed forces of NATO’s most populous European member “war-capable.”
For the other half.
And for some odd reason the younger Germans are much less enthusiastic about the idea than older Germans.
Around half of German citizens are in favour of reintroducing compulsory military service, according to a survey by opinion research institute Forsa.
In the poll commissioned by German news magazine Stern, 52% of respondents were in favour of compulsory military service, the magazine said on Tuesday.
Some 43% were against it and 5% expressed no opinion. According to the data, the strongest supporters of compulsory military service were found in the over-60 age group, with 59% in favour. In contrast, 59% of 18 to 29-year-olds were against compulsory military service.
That means, more or less: “Well, what do you know? It’s possible after all.”
Germany hits 2% NATO spending target for first time since end of Cold War – Germany has met a NATO alliance target to spend 2% of its gross domestic product on defence for the first time since the early 1990s, a defence ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday, as spending ramped up after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The German government is allocating the equivalent of 71.8 billion euros ($76.8 billion) for defence spending in the current year through regular and special budget outlays. However, the sum of its total defence spending is classified.
This has always been the case.
News this is not but it’s amusing to see the media pretend it is.
German defence minister says military is unfit for problems Europe faces – Boris Pistorius says Germany must be ready to confront Putin as he considers allowing non-nationals to join armed forces.
Yawn. Another “secret report” has been “discovered” somewhere. I hate public secret reports.
Especially when public secret reports like these are nothing other than plans. Normal military plans. Armies plan for everything, that’s what they’re supposed to do. Even when they aren’t real armies, like the Bundeswehr.
Germany ‘preparing for war’ as conflict between NATO and Russia ‘imminent’ – One of the founding principles of NATO is collective defence, which sees all members leaping to the defence of another country part of the alliance if it invokes Article 5.
Referring to a secret Bundeswehr document, a source told German daily Bild that an escalation between Moscow and the Western alliance could start as early as next month.
The confidential document details how the war may erupt, with events and incidents happening month after month.
Because it’s always spotted.
Or being repaired. Or hasn’t been delivered yet. Or on fire. Or…
Ukraine Only Has a Few German Leopard Tanks Left: Lawmaker – Ukraine’s military only has a few Leopard 2A6 tanks left that are fit for combat after receiving 18 from Germany in March, according to German politician and economist Sebastian Schäfer…
However, some of the Leopard tanks reportedly sat unused in storage or needed repairs before being sent to Ukraine, sparking concerns about the vehicles’ battle-readiness. Prior to Berlin pledging to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, the head of German military manufacturer Rheinmetall told German newspaper Bild that stocks of Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 tanks “must be completely dismantled and rebuilt.”
That means conscription.
Germany mulls reintroduction of compulsory military service – The Bundeswehr is facing a dramatic shortage in personnel. Now Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has rekindled the debate over reintroducing conscription.
At the end of October, the Bundeswehr said it counted 181,383 soldiers in its ranks — that’s still some distance from the target of 203,000 that the German military hopes to reach by 2025. This has given rise to concern in times of Russia’s war against Ukraine, which has once again reminded Germans how quickly conflicts can erupt in Europe.
Since taking office at the beginning of 2023, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has been thinking about ways to make the Bundeswehr more attractive as a career. He said he has received 65 concrete proposals from his ministry on recruitment and reforming training methods.
Even conscription, something Germany ended in 2011, is also up for debate. “There were reasons at the time to suspend compulsory military service. In retrospect, however, it was a mistake,” Pistorius told newspaper Die Welt earlier in December.
Hang in there, Lithuania.
German cavalry is on its way.
German brigade to be combat ready in Lithuania, on Russian border, in 2027.
A permanent German brigade of about 4,800 soldiers in Lithuania, on the Russian border, will be combat-ready in 2027, defence ministers of both NATO members said on Monday after signing an agreement on German troops’ first permanent foreign deployment since World War Two.
You’ll never ever find yourselves in that role and everybody knows it. Like, we get it already. Yawn.
It would be nice, however, if you could maybe possibly perhaps put yourselves in the position to defend yourselves. Just saying.
Most Germans oppose military leadership role in Europe – 54% of Germans say they do not want Berlin to pursue more active foreign policy, and 71% say they are against taking on leadership role for Europe’s defense.
According to the survey, a majority of Germans are against a more militarized foreign policy, but support diplomatic efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts.
That means loser. It also means losers (in plural).
US and Germany risk owning Ukraine’s stalling war effort – The onus is on European allies to step up support and chart a path for Kyiv towards Nato and EU membership.
More than 50 countries are supporting Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s full-scale invasion. Yet Ukraine’s existential struggle in Europe’s largest war since 1945 currently hinges mainly on two countries. US leadership, as well as financial and material support for Kyiv, have been essential to Ukraine’s survival. Germany is its second largest supplier of weapons and money, far ahead of the rest of the field.
Observing Hermann 