German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius wants to cut 160 out of 370 positions at management level in the Bundeswehr (article in German)

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  1. translation

    Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) wants to massively downsize the management of his ministry, according to a newspaper report. Around 160 of the almost 370 jobs there are to be cut, as the “Bild” newspaper reported on Wednesday. According to the report, for example, the staff “Organization and Auditing” and the staff “Strategic Control Armament” will be removed from the management. The area of the Inspector General will be greatly reduced, the “Bild” newspaper further writes.

    According to the newspaper, the offices of the state secretaries will also be downsized – from just under 20 employees each to five or six. The heads of department in the ministry, on the other hand, are to be given more responsibility, according to the report.

    According to the “Bild” newspaper, the restructuring is to take place as early as May 15. A meeting of department heads is scheduled for April 18, and the reform is to be announced two days later at an extraordinary staff meeting. A further reform step is to follow in the fall, affecting the rest of the ministry. In total, ten to 20 percent of staff are to be cut, according to the newspaper.

    Military strategic analysis to be strengthened

    Pistorius had taken office as Federal Minister of Defense in January, replacing Christine Lambrecht (SPD), who had resigned after just over 13 months in office – following massive criticism of her conduct of office and a rapid loss of public reputation.

    In addition, Pistorius is continuing the restructuring of the defense department with new planners for the infrastructure of the armed forces. According to information from the Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Roland Börger, an expert from the ministry, will head the Federal Office for Infrastructure, Environmental Protection and Services of the Bundeswehr (BAIUDBw). The new president of the Bonn-based federal authority recently earned his merits with plans for the Büchel air base in Rhineland-Palatinate, where the Luftwaffe’s F-35 stealth jets are to be stationed in the future and conversion measures are underway.

    The new head of the Department of Infrastructure, Environmental Protection and Services (IUD) in the Ministry of Defense will be Alexander Götz from Lower Saxony, an expert in cooperation in disaster management. Pistorius had announced that he would make a number of personnel decisions. He has already appointed a new inspector general, replaced a state secretary and appointed a new president of the procurement agency BAAINBw.
    It is still expected that there could be a planning staff again in the ministry itself, which was abolished in 2012. Since 1968, the ministry has had such a staff to develop and analyze key military strategic goals. The ministry would not comment Wednesday on reports of other possible personnel decisions.

    translated with Deepl [https://www.deepl.com/translator](https://www.deepl.com/translator)

  2. Pistorius has been Defense Minister for only 2 months,yet he already managed to increase the efficiency of the bureaucracy of Bundeswehr

    of the top of my head,he managed to get contracts for new GEPARD munition production facility signed **within a month of taking office,and production will start this summer**

    he also oversaw the punctual delivery of Leopards tanks and Marder IFVs, and a general streamlining of military aid to Ukraine

    not to mention the establishent of new repair centers for Ukrainian equipment in Romania and Slovakia

    overall, he is a 1000x improvement over Lambrecht

  3. Funny how fast things can go, if you decide that you (apart from fulfilling NATO obligations) actually want a functioning Bundeswehr…

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