Generations in conversation: Officers about the change in the Bundeswehr!

Generations in conversation: Officers about the change in the Bundeswehr!

In an important meeting between retired Lieutenant Colonel Gisbert Becker and the aspiring Lieutenant Colonel Irina Rott in Dorfen, different perspectives on the Bundeswehr are discussed. The 50-year age difference between the two officers illustrates the change within the armed forces that Becker and Rott represent. Becker, born in Munich in 1937, witnessed the Second World War and belongs to the first generation of the Bundeswehr, which was founded in 1955. His career took him through Germany, Italy, the USA and in NATO missions. His knowledge is based on his experiences, which he now passes on to the young officer Rott, who was born in 1987 and joined the Bundeswehr in 2007.

Like Becker, Rott, who currently leads the German component of the NATO ISR Force in Sicily, has had a varied career. She has served in various cities, including Hamburg and Bonn, and is fluent in Italian, which could qualify her for an important training mission in Rome. Becker is impressed by her career and sees it as confirmation of the forward-looking trend of giving women leadership positions in the Bundeswehr.

Women in the Bundeswehr

The proportion of women in the Bundeswehr is currently over 24,000, which makes up 13 percent of the total personnel. There are ambitious goals to increase the proportion of women to at least 15 percent. Women fly fighter planes, drive tanks and take command in various military units. However, key leadership positions are still few and far between. There are only three women with general rank in the medical system, and the first woman in this position is not expected until 2029. The lack of female role models is also cited as one reason why the proportion of young women who see the Bundeswehr as an attractive employer has halved since 2018, as the reservist association reports.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has announced that he wants to actively address women and people with a migrant background in order to alleviate the personnel problems in the Bundeswehr. A central point of criticism among female officers is the lack of women in leadership positions and the return to “typical military” topics within the Bundeswehr, which give little space to the advancement of women. The discussion about women in leadership positions initiated by Ursula von der Leyen appears to have stalled.

Challenges and perspectives

Not only are women currently confronted with high expectations of flexibility and accessibility, but they are also struggling with a work environment in which issues such as child care and part-time work are often viewed as less important by male colleagues. Female officers are therefore calling for political prioritization of the promotion of women and targeted measures to find suitable women for leadership positions.

The Bundeswehr offers over 1,000 career profiles and has made progress in recent years - from opening all career paths to women to achieving the rank of general for some outstanding women such as Verena von Weymarn and Lale Bartoschek. However, the road to normality still remains long, and the exchange between experienced and new officers, as Becker and Rott practice, is essential for further progress.