Publication

As this brief makes clear, the German Bundeswehr is working mightily to reform itself for a post-ISAF/Ukraine world. Unfortunately, it faces multiple and complex problems in the process, including trying to put "breadth before depth," being able to deploy German armed forces in their entirety, and adopting a new unified operational structure – all by 2017 and in an era where 1) available funds don’t match desired goals, 2) the German Army is neither optimally geared towards stabilization operations nor certain that it is sufficiently prepared for alliance defense, and 3) "ad hoc-plus" will be the most likely way Berlin’s NATO allies operate in the near to mid-term. What to do then? The brief closes by grappling with this final and challenging question.