Boris Pistorius himself finds the word “bloated” an unpleasant word. But when he started working as Federal Minister of Defense, he quickly realized that things couldn’t continue like this. Even many of the 3,000 employees, 1,845 of whom are civilians, don’t really understand the ministry’s organizational chart. Lots of boxes hanging loosely in the room, double structures, up to 30 signatures by countless departments for individual processes. Pistorius went to the structures – and encountered the expected resistance. But he wants to push through his reform, which he announced at the Bundeswehr conference in the fall.
Around 300 positions are to be relocated from the ministry to subordinate areas, to sub-authorities. The aim is to strengthen structures where more personnel are needed in order to make the Bundeswehr fit for the new challenges posed by Russia’s war in Ukraine and the dangers for all of Europe. This can mean transfers. When a letter from the General Staff Council recently became public, which harshly rejected the restructuring plans, there was talk of a mutiny in the ministry. But the approval was actually much greater, from politicians and experts.
“The alternative would be to do nothing”
If you like, Herbert Schug is also a “Pistorian” inside the apparatus who has his hand over the minister’s plans. This is the first time that the ministry has been directly affected, so it is clear that there is resistance. Schug is federal chairman of the Association of Bundeswehr Employees (VAB). He sees too many redundancies in the current system, a back and forth between departments, and decisions that were not made. Accelerating infrastructure measures is also very important, says Schug, for example airfields have to be upgraded to the new ones F-35Fighter jets are aligned and barracks are modernized. “I can only welcome it and I don’t understand all the fuss,” says Schug. There is an assurance that all measures will be carried out in a socially acceptable manner. “The alternative would be to do nothing. But given the security situation, we cannot afford to continue like this.”
A clear letter to the staff council
Pistorius himself doesn’t want to waver; in a reply to the chairman of the general staff council, Michael Richter, he gives it out in a friendly but clear manner. “As you know, the acquisition of the new organization is not dependent on your consent,” emphasizes Pistorius in the letter sent to the South German newspaper is present. He certainly doesn’t want to accept the accusation that someone here was taken by surprise by the plans and wasn’t heard.
It was confirmed to him “that you have been continuously informed about the progress of the planning every two weeks since July 2023 as part of the trusting cooperation,” writes Pistorius. A large number of suggestions from the offices in Bonn and Berlin were taken up and discussed by him in personal conversations. He wanted to make it clear once again “that, in my opinion, changes are necessary to improve the company’s ability to work.” Postponing the changes, as Richter suggested, “until after the reorganization of the entire Bundeswehr or for some areas even until January 2027 (…) is therefore not an option.”
Communication is also being reformed
But there are now rumblings in other places too. An example: Communication about the new era should now be handled centrally by the editorial team Bundeswehr.de Pistorius’ spokesman, Michael Stempfle, a former ARD journalist, is responsible for this. In response to SZ’s request, Stempfle said that a six-month test run would begin on March 1st: “The editorial team of the Bundeswehr should prepare the articles from the press information centers of the branches of the armed forces and other subordinate areas for the site Bundeswehr.de are delivered, approved editorially and then published.” The editorial team has 95 employees, but despite the new tasks there will be no increase in positions.
So far, for example, the Air Force, Army and Navy have their own sovereignty over communication and publications, for example on exercises, Bundeswehr locations or new weapon systems. This is why there is now even talk of “censorship” internally; a bottleneck is being created by the central acceptance of texts instead of being able to publish quickly and individually as before. This has proven to be particularly advantageous during foreign missions or large-scale exercises such as Air Defender, with possible effects on civil air traffic.
Stempfle, on the other hand, emphasizes that the speed should not suffer; after six months we will take stock. “In addition to increasing the journalistic quality of the articles, the aim is above all to concentrate the editorial work on topics that are associated with the turning point.” Here too, people want to stick to it despite the criticism. Pistorius enjoys the role of tackler – but it remains to be seen whether the reforms will really achieve much, including stringent communication at the turn of the century.
The Bundeswehr has so far been “so incredibly bureaucratic that quick solutions are actually not possible in this apparatus,” the military historian Sönke Neitzel, for example, recently said. But the defense minister wants to at least risk the conflict – even if the ministry and the Bundeswehr are known for their perseverance. “He has now let the cat out of the bag,” said one of the ministry officials.