Germany’s armed forces are facing major problems as their personnel age and they struggle to recruit new ones, according to a report presented to the German parliament.
Despite the announcement made in 2022 by the chancellor Olaf Solz for major new defense investments, the armed forces still face equipment shortages as well as infrastructure problems, according to Eva Hegl, the German armed forces commissioner.
“The force continues to age and shrink,” Heggle wrote in her 2023 annual report, which was released.
German military units have large “staffing gaps”, according to the report. Haegl also notes that equipment shortages include everything from heavy equipment to spare parts, and that these shortages have worsened as Germany has sent Ukraine weapons from its stockpiles.
Solz announced a special €100 billion fund to re-equip the armed forces in a speech after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The chancellor called the invasion a “turning point” (“Zeitenwende”) and promised that the Germany will rebuild its armed forces.
But the report points out that in practice the changes are slow. Hagel writes that “in many areas a significant course was set” last year, but Germany’s armed forces have not yet achieved their goal.
Some facilities are in terrible shape, says Heggle. He describes the conditions on bases and the housing of soldiers in some places as “disgraceful”.
“I get letters from parents whose children have just started their term – in camps with rickety cubicles, moldy showers and clogged toilets,” he says.
The commissioner’s job is to assist parliament in its task of overseeing the armed forces and also to serve as an advocate for soldiers.
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