By this year at the latest, it will be abundantly clear: the Bundeswehr is ailing and Germany would be in a bad position if attacked. The military commissioner Högl now urges speed in the modernization of the troops. In view of the war, things had to be emphatically accelerated and purged.
The military commissioner Eva Högl is in favor of a regular report on the modernization of the Bundeswehr from the 100 billion special pot for weapons and equipment approved by Parliament. In order to make faster progress in fully equipping the armed forces, the existing, complicated set of rules should be dispensed with at least temporarily, said the SPD politician.
"The 100 billion euros must not be awarded in the existing structures and procedures. Then we will not make any progress," says Högl. It is up to the Department of Defense to make a proposal. According to Article 45b of the Basic Law, the Commissioner for the Armed Forces assists the Bundestag in parliamentary control of the armed forces. But she is also the soldiers' advocate, who can turn to her at any time.
According to Högl, there is a great and justified expectation in the armed forces that the full equipment will now progress quickly. In the corona pandemic, Germany was able to change a set of rules very quickly. "We are in a situation now, there is a war in Ukraine, we have to adapt our rules. And that doesn't mean more and more complicated, but accelerate and purge it vigorously. It can be agreed for a limited time and at European level," she said. And: "Without a separate set of rules for this situation, we will not be able to spend the 100 billion euros as quickly and in a concentrated manner as is necessary." In the Bundestag that is a majority.
At the same time, the military commissioner wants more transparency and a regularly updated report on what the 100 billion euros are being spent on, what has been ordered and what has been achieved. "We have something like that, for example, with the support services for Ukraine," said Högl. I think a regular inventory, a turning point report, would be useful for the topic of special assets." There have already been some good steps, such as the Procurement Acceleration Act, the use of exceptions in European public procurement law in the case of state security interests ("Article 346 TFEU") and higher thresholds for direct award from 1000 to 5000 euros.
The Commissioner for the Armed Forces warned not only to look at the equipment, but also to look more closely at the personnel. "We talk a lot about material, but the sticking point is the personnel, the Bundeswehr consists first and foremost of 182,000 soldiers," she said. You experience the Bundeswehr as very burdened. For years, the annual report of the military commissioner has stated: "20,000 posts are vacant and in many places the right person is not in the right post at the right time."
The military commissioner also advises a review of the Bundeswehr's advertising campaign, which must show a realistic picture of the service. In recent years, some of the glossy posters have done without any reference to service at arms, and the language has also been changed. For example, the position of a tank commander was advertised as "Team leader (m/f/d) Panzertruppe". The sergeant career in the elite unit KSK is currently offered as "Team Management Command Special Forces" ("You lead a commando squad both in training and in action."), although only the Navy's combat swimmers accept direct applicants from civilian life.
"What I criticize is that in recent years it has often been pretended that being a soldier is a completely normal job. That's not it," said Högl. "There has to be honest advertising that makes it clear what that means." In her experience, young people "are much less concerned with the colorful little pictures and films" than with reports from acquaintances and relatives. "So: posters, advertising campaigns and YouTube videos are right and important, but the best advertising medium for the Bundeswehr are the soldiers themselves. That's why the framework conditions are so important." It doesn't help to present the Bundeswehr attractively if the men and women who join the troops find something completely different on site.
"And since February 24, it's even more important to say that it's about surviving against an opponent in combat. In case of doubt, the soldiers stand up for the mission with their lives and their physical integrity. You can't do that around it and that must not be discussed away," said Högl. Service in the military is not a job in a car workshop or in administration. Högl: "We have a very high dropout rate of around 18 percent for those who leave the Bundeswehr again in the first six months. A more realistic description also reduces the dropout rate, I'm convinced of that."
According to the military commissioner, the big challenge will be: "Are we recruiting enough people for the Bundeswehr?" Högl: "The ministry is still sticking to the plan to have 203,000 soldiers by 2031. That's very ambitious and will be quite a feat. I have doubts as to whether this goal is even realistic."
