Report: German Military Lacks Equipment And Recruits

Soldiers of the 33rd Panzergrenadier bataillon stand ready for inspection in front of a Puma infantry fighting vehicle after taking part in a drill at the headquarters of the 33rd Panzergrenadier bataillon in Neustadt am Ruebenberge on June 29, 2016. Photo by AFP

DW: German military lacks equipment and recruits, says damning report

The German Bundeswehr is still underequipped, understaffed and overly bureaucratic, a new parliamentary report has revealed. Opposition politicians also say it is ignoring its problem with far-right extremism.

German soldiers sometimes have to rely on civilian helicopters to transport them around in Afghanistan, while vital equipment such as body armor has to be borrowed, according to the parliament's new Bundeswehr report presented to the government on Tuesday.

The annual study also detailed a rise in reports of sexual harassment and some instances of far-right extremism among soldiers.

"I'd like to report: It's spring, everything will be new. But the truth is: It's still winter," the report's author, Bundestag military commissioner Hans-Peter Bartels, said as he presented the document at a press conference in Berlin.

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Update #1: German military requires urgent action - parliamentary report (Euronews/Reuters)
Update #2: German parliament military commissioner criticizes army for deficiencies (Xinhua)

WNU Editor: The German military has been in a mess for a long time .... Germany's Military Is A Total Mess (November 6, 2018).

from War News Updates http://bit.ly/2B7eMhO