Nachgefragt: Neues Kommando zur Landesverteidigung I Bundeswehr

Welcome, dear viewers, to today's controversial episode. We usually answer your questions about the war in Ukraine here. But this time we want to take a little excursion with you. And there is a special reason for that. At the beginning of the week the new Territorial Command was created in Berlin and, therefore, it is a new command in this Bundeswehr. The commander of the new command is Lieutenant General Carsten Breuer and I would like to welcome him here at Inquiry today. Good morning, General Breuer. Hello Mrs. Captain Watson, I greet you. Why do we need a Territorial Command now more than ever?

Well, of course we have already carried out tasks at the territorial level. Everyone knows it, everyone knows it, from the help of the Bundeswehr in the coronavirus pandemic to the terrible floods in the Ahr Valley, where civil structures, civil aid organizations and civil bodies also received the support of the Bundeswehr. We know. This is the territorial area that we really know. On the other hand, we have an area that we still do not master so well. And that is what I would define as strong national defense, and what should be considered territorial defense. And to strengthen this territorial defense, have a command team for this, which can then also provide leadership performance across the entire spectrum, across the entire spectrum of tasks and operations.

For this we need the Territorial Command of the Bundeswehr. The tasks now carried out by the Territorial Command also previously existed within the Bundeswehr. Absolutely correct. But they were dispersed in different areas and what we did now with the Territorial Command, we brought together all the tasks under a single leadership and we went and coordinated them from the levels together and we coordinated them from the breadth, so that we really had a rejuvenation, a concentration in the central mission, in the central tasks. And with this we have been able to strengthen the leadership in this command.

That is to say, if I had to summarize it I would say that the added value of Territorial Command lies in the grouping of tasks. Yes, you can, you can look at it that way. On the one hand, it is about grouping tasks, that is, as I said, really bringing together different levels, but also different departments of the Bundeswehr, under the same direction. But that would just be old wine in new wineskins. It is much more. What I just described is perhaps only a third of the tasks we perform. Two thirds are new tasks that are added.

And if I may explain it, then, on the one hand, that's all we know. I just mentioned it, namely the administrative assistance of the Bundeswehr in the event of a disaster, Ahrtal, Corona, etc. Floods, forest fires, on the one hand, this is our spectrum of intensity and tasks, and on the other hand, in Germany there is a strong national defense, that is, a territorial defense. This command is created to be able to lead all soldiers deployed in Germany. This contrasts with the sister command, the operational command, which directs all soldiers outside the country's borders, while the territorial command directs all soldiers inside.

And if we look at these two poles, then this pole, which represents a strong national defense, is certainly the worst case scenario. For us at the helm, however, the worst-case scenario is what we are preparing for, which is in the middle, in the hybrid influence on statehood. Thus, a situation that is no longer completely peace, but not completely war either. And that is a situation that I think is the biggest challenge for us, the biggest threat. Just tell us a picture: How should we imagine the new command in the future? Territorial Command is set up in such a way that we can try to counter anything that I can see coming as a threat or that could be a threat to us.

But since we don't know what these threats look like or at least we can't describe them very clearly in every detail, it means that we have to approach them with great flexibility. And this means that not each individual task is formulated down to the smallest detail for each soldier and each civilian employee, but that we are part of a common personnel structure in the Bundeswehr and that the tasks have great flexibility and can also be perceived in different areas. On the one hand, this is the operations center, that is, the operations management itself, but on the other hand, an essential part is everything that planning involves there.

I believe these two elements together form the core of this new command and all other areas support this operational mission. The burger would say “butter the fish.” Now we would like to hear from you: Is this so necessary for national defense? Absolutely. This is necessary, because not only with Russia's attack on Ukraine on February 24, but also a little already and maybe even a little more after the annexation, Russia's annexation of Crimea, which violated international law , we realized that we have to move much more towards national and alliance defense and this, national and alliance defense, also having to think about the war in Germany, being able to think about it so that it does not happen, that is certainly always our maxim, but we have to be prepared for it.

And it is precisely this preparation that we are taking into account and I believe that the security policy framework that we all know from the news and that we have all seen everywhere shows that we are right in this regard. Now, I think you could say that Territorial Command is emerging from the Bundeswehr's Territorial Task Command. How is it different in the end? If we take the beam of intensity that I have just tested again, that is, the spectrum in which our tasks are located, then the Territorial Task Command also has this first part filmed together with soldiers and employees of the Base Command of the Armed Forces , that is, everything that was included in aid, what was included in disaster relief, which then extends to host country support, that is, support of foreign armed forces moving through Germany.

That was the central task, the central mission of the Territorial Task Command. What is coming now is much more. This extends to territorial defense in Germany. Territorial Command will continue to be responsible for the formation of crisis teams in the future. Isn't this more of a civil task? I think that when you find yourself in a crisis, you cannot and should not ask: Is this a civil or military task? But you always have to ask yourself: who can best solve this crisis or who can best contribute to solving it? We have learned from the experience of the Corona crisis team of the Federal Chancellery that we have to be able to grow quickly.

And for that you need a cover. An instrument that can form this crisis team is really needed. This projectile will be provided in the future by the Territorial Command of the Bundeswehr. This means that we provide all the material, starting with the PC, possibly situation maps, everything necessary there, but also personnel management skills. And then, in addition, the experts are coupled, who are also the best minds for this crisis, to be able to resolve it. Thus, a shell created by us receives external support from experts. When trading, you also learn that the moment you move, the moment you regroup, it also means a weakening.

Is this not really a weakening of the Territorial Command within the framework of the restructuring? Captain Watson, you are absolutely right, it is always a moment of weakness, but we had thought about this moment of weakness beforehand. And one of the requirements for the establishment of the Territorial Command was that we fluidly carry out the tasks that were previously carried out in the Territorial Tasks Command and that were carried out by the base of the Armed Forces at the territorial level, so that these tasks can continue so that they don't go and say: we have to restructure now, we will wait until the next crisis comes.

Because no flood or wildfire will wait for us to restructure. But we can take all the measures, if we think about it beforehand, we can go ahead with all the measures and we can always push them, control them so that we are ready for action. That's what we did and that's what we've done now with the reclassification. And I am very, very confident that even now, at this moment, we can do something to counter any crisis. Now comes a topic that we should talk about urgently. We are still asked on social media and, above all, through citizen dialogue, that the main objective of the creation of the Territorial Command is to be able to address citizens in Germany or take measures against them.

What do you say about fear? Absolute nonsense. So in my opinion, that's really nonsense. With the creation of the Territorial Command we have not changed anything, not one iota, of the Fundamental Law. The Basic Law applies and therefore the framework for the use of the armed forces is very precisely defined. So there is absolutely nothing to this theory, which I have already seen and read. It has no basis. This means that, after all, it can be said that in the future we will no longer see soldiers in the urban centers of German cities. Yes, we will, because I just think a lot of people will continue to take advantage of the free train travel and then have to travel in uniform.

So in that sense, I say this a little lightly, in that sense we will see soldiers. To make it serious again. We will see soldiers again and again when we are asked to provide assistance, when civilian structures have reached their limits and we have to provide administrative assistance. Administrative assistance as good neighborly help between authorities, when we go there to provide administrative assistance and then we can provide support, regardless of whether it is a corona pandemic, a flood or a forest fire. In the end, this means that the establishment of the Territorial Command does not legitimize internal operations.

No, absolutely. And again: there is a Basic Law and the Basic Law stipulates very clearly and precisely when the armed forces can be deployed. Thank you very much for the interview, Mr. General. With great pleasure. It was fun, Captain Watson. Thank you. And that's it again for our requested episode. In the future, the Territorial Command will assume its functions from its sister command, the Operations Command. Thanks for watching and until next time.