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NEWS AND VIEWS THAT IMPACT LIMITED CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with
power to endanger the public liberty." - - - - John Adams

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Germany Plans Deep Cuts to Its Armed Forces

The United States is bankrupt and the Federal Reserve's printing presses are running 24-7.  Can massive cuts in our military be far behind?

The German Army in Afghanistan
Signaling one of the biggest shake-ups in decades for the German military, Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière unveiled plans to reduce troop numbers, cut bureaucracy and eliminate duplication.  The ministry must find savings of more than €8 billion by 2015 as part of the government’s €80 billion austerity package.

The army would be turned into a solely professional force. The number of troops would be reduced to around 185,000, from 250,000, of which 5,000 to 15,000 would be short-term volunteer recruits.  The number of troops serving in missions abroad would be increased to 10,000, from 7,000, a decision that is expected to win praise from the United States and Germany's NATO allies. After the U.S. and Britain, Germany is the third largest contributor of soldiers to the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan.


A German soldier who fell in Afghanistan

The Government also intends to reduce the number of civilians working for the military by 19,000, to 55,000. In the Defense Ministry itself, civilian staff will be cut to 2,000, from 3,000.

Not yet decided is which of the 400 military bases would be closed. 

Leadership structures, too, are to be changed. Mr. de Maizière said there were too many “parallel structures” as well as “too much supervision for so little work."

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