[Goose]

Goose mentioned how hollowed-out the German military currently is.  This NYT piece reflects that very well.  There is a major cultural shift beginning to happen there, but it will take a long time to rebuild.  Following is a gift link--hopefully it works.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/24/magaz...=share-url

Thanks for this link. There is lots of interesting data in this article, but IMO the situation in Germany is very complex and most of the treatments in the US press get lots of it wrong. One example from the article: "Conscription in Germany, a relic of the Cold War, was suspended in 2011,". Conscription in Germany goes back to before the foundation of the German Empire. It was "the link between the Army and the people". It had a very distinct socialization function, even for people who didn't get called. While there were many things about it that were not "optimal" (from both a military and social point of view) in the late 20th and early 21st century, the function it performed was still critical. Replacing it with nothing was a big problem. The military predicted it would be thus, and they were correct.

It is unquestionably true that the reunification of Germany had a big impact on how the military was viewed by the people. We here in the US don't understand lots of it. A good source on what immediate effect that had is "Requiem for an Army" by Dale Herspring. The days of a "Don't scare the bear" policy that followed, along with the necessary steps of reunification (and the inevitable changes that followed) had significant effects on the German military that were not understood at the time (and few cared anyway). It is a very complex subject that is going to be a "problem" for a long time.

[Goose]

Goose mentioned how hollowed-out the German military currently is.  This NYT piece reflects that very well.  There is a major cultural shift beginning to happen there, but it will take a long time to rebuild.  Following is a gift link--hopefully it works.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/24/magaz...=share-url

Thanks for this link. There is lots of interesting data in this article, but IMO the situation in Germany is very complex and most of the treatments in the US press get lots of it wrong. One example from the article: "Conscription in Germany, a relic of the Cold War, was suspended in 2011,". Conscription in Germany goes back to before the foundation of the German Empire. It was "the link between the Army and the people". It had a very distinct socialization function, even for people who didn't get called. While there were many things about it that were not "optimal" (from both a military and social point of view) in the late 20th and early 21st century, the function it performed was still critical. Replacing it with nothing was a big problem. The military predicted it would be thus, and they were correct.

It is unquestionably true that the reunification of Germany had a big impact on how the military was viewed by the people. We here in the US don't understand lots of it. A good source on what immediate effect that had is "Requiem for an Army" by Dale Herspring. The days of a "Don't scare the bear" policy that followed, along with the necessary steps of reunification (and the inevitable changes that followed) had significant effects on the German military that were not understood at the time (and few cared anyway). It is a very complex subject that is going to be a "problem" for a long time.