A glimpse into the future of the Bundeswehr

The most important goal of Lieutenant General Alfons Mai’s visit to Hungary was the strengthening ofHungarian–German cooperation and professional relations, in particular the establishment of future cooperation between the Hungarian Defence Forces and the Bundeswehr. During the visit paid between 13 and 15 September, the concept of German-Hungarian mentoring was also on the agenda of discussions, and in a lecture delivered at the Faculty of Military Science and Officer Training of the National University of Public Service, the Chief of the German Army talked about the future changes affecting the German military.

He said that a significant organizational transformation lies ahead of the German armed forces, because in the future, the various capabilities will be grouped into four services: these are the army, the navy, the cyber defence service and the air force. The latter will comprise all organizations related to space exploration and developments. He added that the security risks affecting the world pose new challenges and threats, and the Bundeswehr responds to them with an armed forces reform. The objective is to form a mobile, rapid reaction force while retaining all capabilities achieved so far with full capacity.

To this end, developments are about to start in the whole Bundeswehr, which will affect the work of command and control organs and transform the decision-making procedures in the interest of quick and smooth taskings under all circumstances. Furthermore, to enhance the effectiveness of interdependent organizations that belong together, they will be in direct contact with each other in the future, which speeds up the flow of information among them. The resources to be freed up through these transformations will go into the reinforcement and tactical-level support of the troops. At the same time, they intend to increase the operational and material supply readiness of the military as well, so that the Bundeswehr be ready to defend the country and its citizens any time, regardless of the type of unforeseen challenges they face.

Lieutenant General Alfons Mais talked about the Bundeswehr’s ideas about the military career path, too. He pointed out that currently there is no direct mobility between the uniformed service and the civilian employee statuses. He used an example to explain it, adding that today, if someone decides to stay in the force but wants to continue working there as a civilian employee after a yearslong military service, he or she can do so by first leaving the military and then applying for a job advertised by the armed forces. The Bundeswehr leaders are planning to make significant changes in this field, as they intend to provide everybody from 18 to 65 years of age with opportunity to serve the homeland, said the Chief of the German Army.

Organized by the Land Forces Inspectorate of the Hungarian Defence Forces Command, the lecture was attended by members of the Hungarian Defence Forces and the Ministry of Defence, university students as well as by Major General Attila Takács, Land Forces Inspector of the Hungarian Defence Forces Command and Brigadier General Dr. Árpád Pohl, Dean of the university. At the end of the presentation, Lieutenant General Alfons Mais willingly answered all questions from the students.