Logistics Challenges in the German Federal Armed Forces

Abstract

Europe’s security environment has become more complex in recent years. It is widely acknowledged that national and collective defense against a peer opponent once again have emerged as core tasks, especially for the European pillar of NATO.

Germany is directly affected by these developments due to its central geographical location in the heart of Europe. With its capable infrastructure, Germany is a central strategic hub for comprehensive collective defense. The necessary structures and capabilities for such a scenario have been neglected in the last 20 years and have now regained importance. This applies to the Bundeswehr as a whole and in particular to the military logistics. Against the background of current threat analyses and weapons technology a review of the logistic structures, units and their capabilities is more than necessary.

This lecture gives an overview of the current measures and addresses the question of how logistic capabilities and structures have to be adapted and how they should be implemented. In addition, it will show which possibilities and chances the cooperation with industry and disruptive technologies can offer.

Biography

Lieutenant General Bohrer finished his basic military training in 1976 and attended the officers’ training immediately after this. In 1980, he graduated from the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich with a degree in business administration. Until 1988, he held several posts as a Transport Officer and Squadron Commander at Tactical Fighter Wing 74, Neuburg an der Donau.

From 1988 to 1990, Lieutenant General Bohrer attended the General-Staff Course at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg. Subsequently, he served as Section Chief Logistics Policy at the Military District Command III in Dusseldorf. From 1992 to 1995 he served as Assistant Defence Attaché at the German Embassy in Moscow. Following this, Lieutenant General Bohrer was transferred to Air Force Logistics Regiment 5 in Neubrandenburg as Deputy Commander, before assuming a post in the German Federal Ministry of Defence (Policy and Advisory Staff) from 1999 to 2000. Afterwards, he became the Military Assistant to Chief of Defence of the Bundeswehr in Berlin. From 2002 to 2004, he served as Branch Chief Logistics Plans and Policy at Joint Support Command in Cologne, followed by a post as Head of Office of two State Secretaries, German Federal Ministry of Defence in Bonn / Berlin.

As a 1* he served as the Assistant Chief of Staff in the Armed Forces Staff (Division IV: Logistics) in Bonn from 2007 to 2010. In 2010, he was promoted to 2* and became the Chief of Staff in the Armed Forces Staff. He subsequently became Chief of Staff German Joint Support Service and Enabling Headquarters, Bonn. Since 2015 he is serving as the Vice Chief of the German Joint Support and Enabling Service in Bonn, meanwhile as a 3*.

Lieutenant General Bohrer is married, has two daughters and five grandchildren. He is very interested in sports, especially in road cycling.