German Army Headquarters

The German Army Headquarters is the Headquarters of the Chief of the Army and the sole major command in the Army major organisational element.

The German Army Headquarters is the planning, command, steering and control tool of the Chief of the German Army. It is the central point of contact for the Federal Ministry of Defence in Army-specific matters.

The structure of the German Army Headquarters is systematically aligned with the structures and work procedures of the Federal Ministry of Defence. At the same time, the German Army Headquarters cooperates with the major commands and higher federal authorities of the other major organisational elements.

Administrative tasks

The German Army Headquarters is subdivided into directorates, divisions and branches. They perform administrative tasks in the primary staff functions, such as logistics, personnel management and training principles. The German Army Headquarters is organised into four Directorates to perform these tasks.

• Operations/Military Intelligence/Training Directorate
• Plans/International Cooperation Directorate
• Personnel/Organisation/Military Psychology Directorate
• Support/Customer Product Management (CPMCustomer Product Management) Directorate

The Chief of the Army is assisted in commanding the Army by the Commander of the Field Army and the Commander, German (DEU) Elements in Multinational (MN) Corps/Basic Military Organisation. These three make up the Army’s highest command echelon.

The Commander of the Field Army exercises command and control over the subordinate divisions.

The Army Concepts and Capabilities Development Centre and the Training Command with their subordinate agencies constitute the Army’s basic military organisation. They are subordinate to the Commander, DEU Elements MN Corps/Basic Military Organisation.

On 11 September 2012, the Chief of Defence transferred command of the Army from Lieutenant General Werner Freers to Lieutenant General Bruno Kasdorf during a parade at Strausberg. On the occasion of this ceremony, the German Army Headquarters was activated with effect from 1 October 2012.

This activation marked the beginning of the Army’s reorientation within the framework of the HEER2011 structure. Since 1 October 2012, the Chief of the German Army’s first official seat has been at Strausberg. All directorates of the German Army Headquarters from Bonn and Koblenz were merged into their target structure at the target destination at Strausberg in the fourth quarter of 2013.