The public debate on the implementation of Chancellor Olaf Solz’s decision to implement a € 100 billion program for the German army has begun in Germany.
Defense Secretary Christine Lambrecht (56, SPD) wants above all to improve the equipment of the soldiers, according to Bild. Because they lack the simplest things: protective vests, helmets, warm underwear, night vision devices.
Speaking to Lambrecht, Bild am Sonntag said: “Our soldiers are doing their duty with impressive dedication and the highest level of professionalism – they are guaranteeing our freedom. That is why they deserve the best possible equipment.”
He instructed Inspector General Eberhard Zorn, 62, to “improve the personnel equipment of the troops as soon as possible as a matter of priority. That’s exactly at the top of my agenda right now.”
Defense expert Wolfgang Helmich (63, SPD) wants to quickly procure heavy transport helicopters and do everything possible “so that troops on the ground can defend themselves against air strikes.”
Patrick Sensburg (50, CDU), head of the reserve union, complains: “Even modern media are not available in sufficient numbers.” The navy needs patrols and larger ships. But that requires staff, Sensburg points out. He calls for the number of soldiers to increase (currently 184,000) to “well over 200,000”.
In addition, many military exercises have been postponed due to the pandemic. The head of the defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strak Zimmermann (63, FDP), told Bild am Sonntag that “he must be trained properly in case of emergency”.
The fact is that the involvement of the federal army so far has been shaped by thinking in operations in peacetime. Defense expert Florian Hahn (47, CSU): “Unfortunately, it only took one war in Europe to turn the SPD from a pacifist to a realist.” It was SPD Finance Minister Olaf Soltz who prevented higher defense spending and armed drones.
SPD politician Helmich: “The austerity march was imposed among the CDU / CSU defense ministers.” The union also failed to reorganize supplies, he noted.
Source: Capital
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