Germany

[Rob c]

This is a warning. You have already been advised by another Super Moderator about your postings. This is a multinational forum and we do not have anytime for country bashing and politics. You are doing both. If you do not immediately substantially improve your posting behaviour, you will no longer be welcome here.

Sorry to butt in here but I have found Stepan's posts rather enlightening as to some of the thinking coming out of Russia and the level of propaganda they must be subject to.
What Stepen does not seem to realise is that the western media are not owned, controlled or in anyway beholding to their respective governments and can say what they like, when they like, irrespective if whether the government likes it or not and that taking the government to task when things are not wright is all part and parcel of our democracy and that anything can be critiqued at any time.
Stepan; Russian TV is freely available in the West so we can get their side of the story.

 

[ngatimozart]

Not aimed at anyone in particular, but if people have problems with the way the Moderators handle some issues, inbox a Moderator using the CONVERSATIONS features. Don't bring it up in the open forum.

 

[Stepan]

Not aimed at anyone in particular, but if people have problems with the way the Moderators handle some issues, inbox a Moderator using the CONVERSATIONS features. Don't bring it up in the open forum.

Why did you delete my answer, that breaking Germany out of NATO is a core goal from Russia?

I think you have a problem with other point of views that are not western.

 

[Boagrius]

I think you have a problem with other point of views that are not western.

I will let Ngati speak for himself but let's be real for a moment. This is an international, english language forum that does centre on a large core of western posters - many of whom are western defence professionals.

As far as I can tell, your introduction to the forum so far has been to immediately deride the newest western fighter aircraft out of hand (F35 in another thread) to an audience that includes individuals who know better from their own professional experience.

If you are now advocating Russia (and Germany) follow a path that directly confronts and undermines western interests I really don't know what kind of response you are expecting? Your views are interesting but your engagement style has been fairly confrontational, especially for a newbie.

You will find many posters here have a very sober, mature and balanced view of Russia and Russian systems. I fear though that there can be no meaningful exchange of ideas if your perspective doggedly parrots the Russian government line in each thread.

Just my 2c...

 

[Stepan]

I will let Ngati speak for himself but let's be real for a moment. This is an international, english language forum that does centre on a large core of western posters - many of whom are western defence professionals.

As far as I can tell, your introduction to the forum so far has been to immediately deride the newest western fighter aircraft out of hand (F35 in another thread) to an audience that includes individuals who know better from their own professional experience.

If you are now advocating Russia follow a path that directly confronts and undermines western interests I really don't know what kind of response you are expecting? Your views are interesting but your engagement style has been fairly confrontational, especially for a newbie.

You will find many posters here have a very sober, mature and balanced view of Russia and Russian systems, but there can be no meaningful exchange of ideas if your perspective doggedly parrots the Russian government line in each thread.

Just my 2c...

I dont parrot our government line. I think what is best for my country? And best for my country is, when we have Germany as a friend.

And we have sucess. Look at Nordstream 2 gas pipeline. USA want that Germany stop it, but Germany continue project. It is simply best for Germany and Russia.

Russia can avoid transfer cost to hostile countries like Poland and Ukraine and directly deliver to Germany, which is main customer. American fracking gas costs 30% more, so Germany saves money, gains more independence and souvereignity.

Breaking Germany out of NATO is a core goal for Russia. We support far right AfD party in Germany. We use our influence on eastern german politicians, who now openly rebel against sanctions. Winning Germany as friend is important so that sanctions end against us.

German parliament called US strikes against Syria as illegal. And we were extremly happy in Russia to hear that.

Western air strikes in Syria illegal - German parliament experts

 

[John Fedup]

History has shown Russia that supporting a far right German political party can have some very unpleasant blowback.

 

[Stepan]

History has shown Russia that supporting a far right German political party can have some very unpleasant blowback.

The AfD is important for German survival. It works as corrective against a hyperliberal regime, which sucessfully more and more gets pushed back. The AfD party is conservative and patriotic. Beside that, Hitlers party was not far right. In many aspects it was far left and socialist.

 

[Rob c]

Not aimed at anyone in particular, but if people have problems with the way the Moderators handle some issues, inbox a Moderator using the CONVERSATIONS features. Don't bring it up in the open forum.

No problem with what you were doing Ngati, just making a (probably irrelevant) observation, I just found the whole thing from Russia interesting and also a little disturbing.
Have not figured out the convisations features yet as when I grew up we did not did not even have power until I was 11 years old so I am eleven years behind in modern technology.

 

[John Fedup]

Have not figured out the convisations features yet as when I grew up we did not did not even have power until I was 11 years old so I am eleven years behind in modern technology.

Your lucky, initial modern technology can be painful. Going to have explore the conversation feature too.

 

[John Fedup]

Germany is delaying its heavy helicopter procurement. Seems similar to Canadian procurement, announce the need, get the vendors excited, and then put the procurement on hold.

Germany postpones heavy-lift helicopter contest

 

[ngatimozart]

Germany is delaying its heavy helicopter procurement. Seems similar to Canadian procurement, announce the need, get the vendors excited, and then put the procurement on hold.

Germany postpones heavy-lift helicopter contest

I think that the circumstances are somewhat different. Germany has a different electoral system to Canada in that whilst Canada's is a First Past the Post system - winner take all, Germany's is a Mixed Member Proportional system where voters get two votes; one for the constituent MP and a second party vote. The legislature is then made up of the constituent MPs plus a certain number of list MPs from the party lists. The number of list MPs each party gets is dependant upon their party vote. So most govts under this electoral system are coalition govts which after each election involve serious negotiations between political parties to form the next govt. After the last German election, the last govt took many months of negotiations and horse trading before the current govt was able to be formed. In NZ we have the same system as Germany, and the current govt is made up of three parties, took a month to form and is basically held hostage by a minor party within the coalition .

 

[John Fedup]

Yes, I can appreciate that a non FPTP system can dim the prospects for efficient decision making. There has been talk here about bringing in something similar. Hope it doesn't happen, our bureaucracy combined with NDP coalitions would reset the procurement bar even lower for anything defence related.

 

[kato]

The reason for the postponement is that the budget discussion by the parliament was pushed beyond the summer break. The budget discussion occurs in three rounds: presentation of the government's budget plan, discussing and approving the individual budgets for ministries, and finally passing the whole thing. Usually this is done around May for step 1, July for step 2, with final approval following in a separate session immediately afterwards, and the budget is then passed to the senate for approval.

Due to the late government formation - six months after election - the process was effectively moved three months back. The government agreed on its proposal only in early July - in the midst of their first major government crisis - and thus only presented it to the parliament after the summer break in September (step 1), with step 2 planned for November.

The original idea for those helos was based around a budget passed in July, basically giving planners only another six weeks (in vacation months...) to finalize their documents before sending out RfPs in September. That this could not occur was clear to all concerned parties since about mid-May.

 

[ngatimozart]

Thanks Kato.

 

[kato]

Since it is making the news outside Europe too, in short format:

Due to an infestation with neonazis and other rightwing extremists Germany is restructuring the KSK - Special Forces Command - of the Army.

The problem to be addressed primarily involves a group of about 30 people who first came to notice in 2017 and have been under surveillance by MAD, the Bundeswehr's counterintelligence service. Prompting action is the fact that at the home of one of these soldiers a weapons depot was found in May this year and that there were grave inconsistencies in management of ammunition and equipment with substantial amounts unaccounted for. Excarbating the issue was that MAD personnel was slipping information on investigations to KSK personnel. Minor recent problems with extremist reservists also need to be addressed, such as an armed group preparing for a "race war" in 2015 that was planning to occupy and militarily defend a village in Saxony.

While the press focuses on the disbanding of the company within KSK that this main group was part of, the catalogue of 60 measures being implemented goes far beyond that. The catalogue was worked out by a investigations committee headed by the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr and seen through by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Bundeswehr. Its implementation will be reviewed by the MoD in four months, with a full dissolution of KSK on the table for non-compliance.

• As part of it, the command span of KSK - a brigade-level command with about 12 companies directly under it - is reduced by about 25% with a bataillon level (with reduced staff) reintroduced. This includes the disbanding of one company and the transfer of the - separately stationed - SOCC company to direct divisional command. All training functions are to be transferred to the Infantry School under purview of a different division-level command, with selection of prospective commando soldiers requiring new prerequisites from applicants and personnel outside KSK being involved. All personnel of KSK will be regularly rotated or switched out from now on.
• The general in command of the Rapid Forces Division is tasked with conducting a full audit of all equipment and ammunition within his division and introducing a new system "correctly portraying" stocks, with external oversight. An advisory board under leadership of the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr will perform a full audit of ammunition stocks used in exercises and deployments, to be presented end of the year.
• The MAD will perform a full check of all its personnel and present new procedures including implementation plan to the MoD within two months; this will involve plans for lines of communications to the MoD and parliament. The Ministry of Defense will seek cooperation between MAD, civilian domestic intelligence services and the Reservist Association to improve hunting down extremist reservists; as part of it the Reservist Association will perform background checks on its 115,000 formal members.
• Various training programmes, advisory functions (psychological, religious), external audits are planned for implementation at KSK. Transparency issues with regard to the public are somewhat addressed.
• Various legal and procedural changes are proposed to change how to deal with such issues when discovered, mostly regarding more intensive security checks and accelerating legal and disciplinary procedures.

 

[ngatimozart]

It's not a problem that's unique to the Bundeswehr. The US military have problems with far right nutters in their ranks and in the NZDF we have one individual who is subject to disciplinary action for passing on NZDF information to a far right group.

I know what I would like to do about the far right and the far left, but apparently it's illegal and immoral.

 

[Todjaeger]

I know what I would like to do about the far right and the far left, but apparently it's illegal and immoral.

Yes, but what would you use as a marinade? Or do you prefer a basting sauce?

 

[ngatimozart]

Yes, but what would you use as a marinade? Or do you prefer a basting sauce?

Neither, the hangi pit gives them that nice smoky flavour.

 

[Rob c]

Neither, the hangi pit gives them that nice smoky flavour.

very tender too.

 

[kato]

Corona package for the Bundeswehr (military share of the touted "10 billion for military and security"), still under discussion between MoD and MoF:

• trucks for €398 million
• ammunition for €210.5 million
• medical equipment for €214 million
• 4 additional H145 LUH in SAR version for €60 million
• restoring (possibly reactivating for charter) the former small sail training ship Nordwind, currently museum ship, for €2 million
• increasing equity in nationalized contractor companies for €436 million (BwFuhrParkService) and €212.3 million (BWI). For BWI this should bring equity ratio to the same "healthy" 80% as for BwFuhrParkService, for BwFuhrParkService this will likely be invested in renewing asset stocks (basically COTS trucks) - there was a similar package invested like that in 2015-2017.
• energy-efficient renovation of facilities for €245 million, digitally taking stock of facilities for €200 million, modernization of training facilities for €100 million
• "digitalization and strengthening of resilience" (without further explanation) for €733.7 million, likely including 200 million for a "cyber agency" and 500 million for a cyber R&D center (both within CIR branch of Bundeswehr)

To be spent 2020 to 2022.