4/28/2019 Has the German Army Gone Soft?

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Has the German Army Gone Soft?

‘Bundeswehr’ lavishes troops with nurseries, at-screens

Has the German Army Gone Soft?

UNCATEGORIZED (HTTPS://WARISBORING.COM/CATEGORY/UNCATEGORIZED/)  June 20, 2014  Michael Peck

(https://warisboring.com/author/michael-peck/)  2 (https://warisboring.com/has-the-german-army-gone-
soft/#comments)
Recommended

The classic image of the German military is of obedient, iron-disciplined

soldiers clicking their heels before arrogant, monocle-wearing o cers.
Frederick the Great, the legendary 18th-century Prussian king and
strategist, said he wanted his men to be more afraid of their o cers than
of the enemy.

But today’s German army, the Bundeswehr, seems more concerned with
quality time with the kids. The German military plans to o er exible work
hours
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10870695/German-(http://www.zergnet.com/i/4046333/52591/0/0/0
army-to-o er-soldiers-creches-and- at-screen-TVs.html) for soldiers. Baltimore Mayor Flees State After Feds
Barracks are getting at-screen televisions and minibars. Raid Her Home
(http://www.zergnet.com/i/4046333/525

There will be nurseries for soldiers’ children, and the army will time
personnel transfers so as not to con ict with school terms.

Frederick the Great is turning over in his grave. Adolf Hitler, in whatever
ring of Hell he resides, surely blames it on the Jews.

But these family-friendly changes are actually the work of Ursula Von Der
Leyen, Germany’s rst female defense minister. Her goal is to attract
volunteers to the German military, which abolished conscription in 2011
and now must compete with private industry for the best people.
(http://www.zergnet.com/i/4015153/52591/0/0/0
Insane Stunts That Tragically Took Lives
“In a society that is changing rapidly, so do the individuals’ expectations of (http://www.zergnet.com/i/4015153/525
work,” Von Der Leyen said. “We have to react very exibly as an employer,
otherwise we will soon face empty hallways and an empty parade
ground.”

But one former German general denounced the policies as being for
“sissies and wimps.” Other retired commanders said the Bundeswehr
needs new equipment, not nurseries. Britain’s Daily Telegraph sni ed that
the changes are “all a far cry from the Prussian ideals of rugged self-
su ciency that once de ned the German military.”

(http://www.zergnet.com/i/3844088/52591/0/0/

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4/28/2019 Has the German Army Gone Soft? | War Is Boring

Indeed, German troops in Afghanistan weren’t exactly up to the standards The Biggest Scandals to Ever Hit the
History Channel
of the World War II Afrika Korps. Internal Bundeswehr reports (http://www.zergnet.com/i/3844088/525
(http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/06/26/german-
soldiers-can-t-shoot.html) admitted that German troops were poorly
trained, poorly equipped and not very enthusiastic about ghting the
Taliban. In 1945, this might have pleased Germany’s neighbors, but the
U.S.-led coalition might have appreciated a more warlike force.

Nonetheless, with all due respect to the former Herr Generals and other
critics, they forget something quite important. Frederick the Great and
Hitler had armies made of conscripts.

Those days are over. More than two decades after the end of the Cold
(http://www.zergnet.com/i/3970538/52591/0/0/0
War, almost every country Western Europe has abolished conscription in
favor of a volunteer army. Denmark still has conscription, but its men Kristo St. John's Sad Cause of Death
Revealed
rarely get drafted—and only for four months. (http://www.zergnet.com/i/3970538/525

Even in the U.S, where voluntary military service isn’t quite so unpopular,
the Pentagon o ers tens of thousands of dollars in reenlistment bonuses.
The fact is that today’s advanced armies need to attract volunteers—and
uncomfortable barracks and family-unfriendly deployments don’t help.

(https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?
Neither do harsh living conditions make for a more e cient army, as
u=https://warisboring.com/has-the-german-
Imperial Japanese and Soviet soldiers could attest. If the armies of Kaiser army-gone-soft/&t=Has the German Army Gone
Wilhelm were e cient, it wasn’t because of Spartan living standards, but Soft?)
rather because the men were well-trained, well-equipped and well-led.

Nurseries and at-screen TVs don’t make an army strong. But they don’t
make it weak, either.
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