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| Some 55,000 military positions have already been eliminated |
The German
Defense Ministry has presented its long-awaited plan to reorganize its military
bases, as it prepares to significantly shrink the size of the military.
Thirty-one bases are soon to be closed.
Wednesday
was a dark day for many German cities and municipalities. They fought to
convince the German military, the Bundeswehr, to stay with them, but to no
avail. The bad news came from the Defense Ministry in the early hours: 31
military bases will be completely shut down.
Among them
some heavyweights: the renowned air force officers' school in the Bavarian town
of Fürstenfeldbruck and the fleet command of the navy in Glücksburg. Both bases
are to have their functions transferred to other places.
Early
Wednesday, the 1,800 soldiers in the southwestern town of Sigmaringen also
found out that they'll soon have to move - the base there, rich in tradition,
will be closed. And businesses in the Danube city of about 16,000 are now
fearing economic losses.
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| De Maiziere said the closures were 'painful' but 'unavoidable' |
"Every
closure and every reduction is painful," said Defense Minister Thomas de
Maiziere. He said there were deeply-rooted traditions in the military, but that
the reforms were unavoidable. "The Bundeswehr is not there for the base's
sake. It's there to fulfill its mission efficiently and well."
Smaller army,
fewer bases
The Defense
Ministry's plan for its military bases follows an earlier decision to reduce
personnel in the Bundeswehr, which is set to shrink to about 185,000.
The bases
were built for many more soldiers, and the ministry says maintaining them would
be too expensive. Since the end of compulsory military service in March, 55,000
posts have been axed, and 30,000 are soon to follow.
The
Bundeswehr bases are spread out across the country so that the military is
"present in the region," as the military says. This will reportedly
not change, as a concentration of the military in a few larger bases was never
considered.
Rather, de
Maiziere proceeded with the motto "reduction comes before closing."
Many bases will be shrunk but not closed. At 31, the number of closures indeed
seems moderate. According to the minister's calculations, the smallest bases
not included, 264 will remain in operation.
New policy
rolls out through 2017
Hardest hit
by the closures is Schleswig-Holstein in the north, the state with the highest
military concentration. Eight bases there are to be closed, and 10,000 service
positions cut. Still, State Premier Peter Harry Carstensen said he doesn't feel
betrayed by the closures, since important military installations will remain in
the state.
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| The leadership of the navy, army and air force is also to be consolidated |
The western
state of Saarland and Bavaria in the south will also feel the cuts, while posts
in the former East Germany will remain relatively unaffected.
The Defense
Ministry has said it will not yet allocate money made from any civilian use of
the closed military bases, but it has stressed that it wants to help the
affected soldiers and civilian contractors.
"The
uncertainty has come to an end," said the German Armed Forces Association,
a soldiers' interest group. It praised the publication of the new base plan,
for which soldiers had long been waiting. But its chairman, Colonel Ulrich
Kirsch, warned the government not to let the affected soldiers down.
"All
hardships have to be mitigated as best possible," he said.
Reforms
reach the top
Also to be
reworked is the Bundeswehr's leadership structure. First and foremost, the
headquarters of the Defense Ministry will remain in Bonn, the former capital of
West Germany. Current capital Berlin will continue to play second fiddle. All
together, Bonn and Berlin are to have no more than 2,000 employees, a good
1,000 fewer than now.
The command
of the various military branches will be relocated and merged with the
responsible administrative bodies. The navy will soon be led from Rostock on
the northeastern coast, the air force from Berlin and the army from Strausberg,
in the eastern state of Brandenburg.
Author: Nina Werkhäuser / acb
Editor: Martin Kuebler
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