Media report
Bundeswehr wants to mobilize up to 12,000 soldiers because of the corona emergency
Bundeswehr soldiers in a vaccination center at the former Schönefeld Airport. The recording was made in January 2021.
© Patrick Pleul / DPA
Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, soldiers of the Bundeswehr have been supporting overloaded clinics and health departments. In the coming weeks, thousands more are to be mobilized, reports the “Spiegel”.
According to “Spiegel”, the Bundeswehr is preparing for a nationwide corona emergency. The responsible Lieutenant General Martin Schelleis wants to mobilize up to 12,000 soldiers to support the overburdened clinics and health authorities, reported the magazine on Saturday. In addition, uniformed helpers should be available for booster vaccinations and the expansion of rapid tests in front of nursing homes and hospitals.
A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Defense told the AFP news agency that the current development of the infection situation is also leading to an increase in administrative assistance requests. The municipalities use them to request emergency aid from the Bundeswehr. “That is why we will be available flexibly for requests for assistance over the next few weeks.”
The staff contingent for Corona aid has been reduced to currently 3,000 soldiers in the past few weeks. An adjustment of the staff contingent is depending on the situation “possible at any time,” said the spokesman. But he did not want to give detailed figures.
Report: Mobilization of up to 12,000 soldiers
The “Spiegel” refers to a submission that Lieutenant General Schelleis sent to the Ministry of Defense on Friday. According to this, 6,000 uniformed helpers should be ready by the end of November, and a good 12,000 by Christmas time. As inspector of the armed forces base, Schelleis has been leading the Bundeswehr’s corona aid mission since the beginning of the pandemic.
The numbers give clues as to how much the corona situation could worsen in the coming weeks and months: More than 10,000 soldiers have only been deployed during the particularly critical phases of the corona pandemic in winter 2020 and spring 2021. According to the spokesman for the ministry, 25,000 soldiers were available at the top.
On Friday it became known that the Bundeswehr only wanted to use fully vaccinated soldiers for aid missions due to the corona pandemic. This was decided because of the rapid increase in new infections, said a defense ministry spokesman. “At the moment we are again increasing our support with around 570 soldiers in tracking contacts in health authorities. 17 soldiers are currently supporting the vaccination campaign,” said the spokesman. Also in hospitals there are currently 48 men and women of the Bundeswehr as “helping hands” to provide on-site support.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Bundeswehr has received a total of more than 8,500 applications for administrative assistance in federal states and municipalities. According to the ministry, 74 measures are currently underway in 40 of the 411 independent cities, districts and districts of Berlin.