Plan for brigade ‘surprising’
Bundeswehr Association wants clarification from Pistorius
6/26/2023, 7:41 p.m
Lithuania has long been demanding a larger German presence on NATO’s eastern flank. The announcement by Defense Minister Pistorius for a 4,000-man brigade surprised not only the partners, but also the Bundeswehr Association. There is concern about an “air booking”.
The chairman of the German Armed Forces Association, André Wüstner, reacted with great skepticism to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius’ announcement that a 4,000-strong brigade would be permanently stationed in Lithuania. “The federal government’s stationing decision, including the conditions imposed by Boris Pistorius, is fundamentally understandable,” Wüstner told the editorial network Germany (RND). “Between the announcement and implementation there is a lot of homework for Lithuania itself, but especially for our defense ministry.”
Wüstner added: “Boris Pistorius’ announcement came as a surprise within the Bundeswehr. There are a lot of conceptual questions, starting with the missing material, necessary structural adjustments and finally how these announcements directly affect soldiers from the army, the armed forces base and the medical service as well as affect their families.” This raises the question of whether a property should be built in Lithuania, like the one used by the US armed forces in Germany – with a complete accommodation infrastructure including schools, shopping facilities and sports facilities. It is also unclear whether the servicewomen and men and their families are threatened with transfers.
The chairman of the Bundeswehr Association also emphasized to the RND that the announcement would result in higher financial requirements for the 2024 defense budget. “If this is missing, the announcement will end as an air booking,” says Wüstner. He assumes that such a decision was not made at short notice and that the Inspector General has already made corresponding conceptual considerations. The head of the association demanded information about this as soon as possible.
Two conditions: “Infrastructure and NATO compatibility”
The defense minister had already hinted at the logistical problems in his surprising announcement in Lithuania that morning. “Germany is ready to permanently station a robust brigade in Lithuania,” Pistorius announced in Vilnius. Prerequisites are “the appropriate infrastructure” on site and “compatibility with NATO plans,” emphasized the defense minister.
The stationing of a brigade with around 4,000 soldiers “plus material” and families involved “considerable effort”, Pistorius said in Vilnius. He had agreed with his Lithuanian colleague Arvydas Anusauskas that the growth of the brigade would “follow the growth of the infrastructure” step by step. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda promised Pistorius that the infrastructure for stationing German soldiers should be built by 2026, ideally even by 2025.