Germany say military reform could free up soldiers for overseas conflicts

German military could send more troops abroad

BERLIN — Germany’s military restructuring could free up more soldiers for international missions, potentially bringing it in line with other countries’ efforts, the defense minister said Monday.

Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg’s comments come as the country faces pressure from the United States to send more soldiers to Afghanistan, where it currently has about 4,000 troops. The war is extremely unpopular at home and Chancellor Angela Merkel has resisted the request for further troops.

Germany currently cannot deploy more than 7,000 to 9,000 of its 247,000 active soldier because the rest are either needed at home or as relief for troops already on overseas missions, Guttenberg said.

The numbers of deployed German troops are “certainly not at the upper end of possibilities in comparison to other countries,” he told reporters. “International crisis and conflict missions have shown that improvements are necessary.”

Guttenberg appointed a commission of six experts to come up with a concept by the end of the year to improve military efficiency. The restructuring is part of a government coalition agreement signed in November.

The German military, or Bundeswehr, has shrunk from 585,000 in 1990, while also taking on new missions.

Deeply changed by its bellicose World War II history, Germany has typically been very hesitant to operate outside its own territory and started to do so only after the country’s reunification — most notably in Afghanistan, where the country has been since 2002.

Recent losses have heated up the debate over when and how the Bundeswehr can come home. Some 39 German soldiers have died in Afghanistan in the last nine years, and parts of the north have recently proven more volatile.

Merkel said this week week that German troops are still needed in Afghanistan but won’t “stay a day longer than absolutely necessary.”

Her government has also announced it would cut compulsory military service from nine to six months. The reform commission is taking that decision into account, Guttenberg said.

Guttenberg gave very few specifics on his goals for the restructuring, saying he did not want to influence the thinking of the commission.

He did say, though, that he is aiming for more cost efficiency and that he is upset at how long some military procurement projects have taken in the past.

“Even though there have been major transformations already, some of them successful, I think current structures do not sufficiently reflect future challenges,” Guttenberg said.