(A typo has been corrected in the first paragraph.)
MUNICH (dpa-AFX) – Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) is protesting against Defense Minister Boris Pistorius’s (SPD) considerations about the reorganization of the regional command structures in the Bundeswehr. The CSU boss fears a weakening of the state commands, which serve as contacts for the state governments in the event of a disaster. The plans caused him “irritation and concern,” writes Söder in a letter to Pistorius, which was first reported by the “Bild” newspaper. The letter is also available to the German Press Agency. Söder sees this not only as a “setback for overall state resilience, but also for Germany’s overall defense.”
In 2024, Pistorius standardized the leadership structures of the armed forces and created the Bundeswehr’s Operational Command Command, called “OpFüKdoBw” in a typical Bundeswehr abbreviation. The operational command should not only unite the military leadership in one place, but also be the central contact point for civil authorities at the federal and state levels.
In the letter, Söder criticizes, among other things, considerations about reducing positions, subordinating state commands to an organizational unit of the army and downgrading remaining positions. “That would be the wrong path for our country and also for the Bundeswehr itself.” The Bavarian head of government is therefore calling for the state commands to be given “real leadership tasks of their own” again. “It is therefore requested that the changes that are apparently being considered not be pursued any further.”/cho/DP/jha