Terrorist attacks, violent unrest, earthquakes or pandemics: when German citizens find themselves in crisis situations abroad, the Bundeswehr assists the Federal Foreign Office by conducting an evacuation operation to bring them back to German territory or to a safe third country. Evacuation is a national responsibility. However, friendly nations often work together on evacuations in order to bring as many people as possible to safety.
There are two forms of evacuation: unarmed evacuation of German nationals, also known as diplomatic pick-ups, and military evacuation operations, also known as noncombatant evacuation operations (NEOs), in which armed force may be used to protect German nationals.
Diplomatic pick-ups are generally conducted without armed forces, for example if there is a supply shortage in the country. In such cases, the Federal Foreign Office decides whether to evacuate German nationals. Civilian transport companies such as airlines are often tasked with this. However, the Federal Foreign Office may also request aircraft from the Special Air Mission Wing at the Federal Ministry of Defence as administrative assistance. One example of a recent unarmed evacuation of German nationals was the coronavirus pandemic: at the beginning of it, German nationals were flown out of Wuhan, China without deployment of armed forces.
If the situation deteriorates in a crisis area, the Bundeswehr provides support in the form of military forces – to protect citizens requiring evacuation as well as military personnel in the task force. As these noncombatant evacuation operations are considered deployment of armed Bundeswehr forces, they are subject to parliamentary approval. This means that the German Bundestag must first grant its approval in accordance with Article 87a of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, provided there is no imminent danger. If there is, approval is granted at a later date.
An example of a noncombatant evacuation operation: When civil war broke out in Sudan in 2023, German nationals were in the crisis region and unable to leave it because airlines had stopped all flights. The Bundeswehr then evacuated Germans, as well as citizens of other countries requiring protection, from Sudan.
If the German government’s crisis management team decides in favour of a noncombatant evacuation operation, the Federal Ministry of Defence becomes responsible for conducting it. The Bundeswehr Joint Force Command, which is directly subordinate to the ministry, handles planning and conduct of a noncombatant evacuation operation. The task force’s size and equipment depend on the mission and the security situation in the mission country. Noncombatant evacuation operations are divided into rapid and robust evacuations.
In a rapid evacuation, German citizens are rescued by sea or by air. The focus is on getting as many people as possible out of the crisis region to safety as quickly as possible. This requires an evacuation point located in the safest environment possible within the crisis area, generally an airport or seaport.
In a rapid air evacuation, depending on the distance from the crisis country, the aircraft coming to rescue people take off either directly from Germany or from a host country nearby. Alongside the German Air Force, the task force on site in the mission country plays a key role. Paratroopers, military police and medical forces work hand in hand in this task force. After an aircraft lands, they secure the airport and prevent potential troublemakers from damaging the aircraft or gaining unauthorised access. Military police register the evacuees. Medical forces treat any injuries or wounds. When everyone is safely on board, they are brought back to Germany, either directly or with a stopover in the host country.
If there is a coast nearby, a rapid evacuation can also be conducted by sea. This depends on whether a vessel from the German Navy or a NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization unit is in the waters near the crisis area, because transit from Germany to the crisis country would generally take too long. The unit for rapid sea evacuation, comprised of snipers, military police and medical forces, is formed by the Shore Force Protection Company of the Sea Battalion in Eckernförde.
If there is a safe port in the crisis country that can serve as an evacuation point, German Navy personnel will sail there to take evacuees on board. If there is not, the ship will drop anchor at a safe distance. The evacuees will then be brought from land to the ship by boat. The naval forces safeguard the ship and the evacuees.
Ideally, evacuees should make their own way to the evacuation point within the crisis area. However, if the situation in the crisis country is so dangerous that this is no longer possible, a robust evacuation is conducted. This term refers to the robustness of the unit. This means that, in the worst-case scenario, Bundeswehr troops will clear the route to the citizens in need of protection in order to bring them out of the crisis area.
The task force in a robust evacuation very quickly sets up a military base, including a mobile surgical hospital, in a safe third country. Depending on the distance, troops fly or drive from there to the crisis area to collect the evacuees. They bring the people being protected along evacuation routes to evacuation points such as airports or seaports, which may also be located in a neighbouring country, depending on the threat situation. Once they have crossed the border, responsibility for conducting the evacuation and further recovery transfers from the Federal Ministry of Defence back to the Federal Foreign Office.
Robust evacuation operations may also entail limited rescue and recovery missions. These missions may be necessary either if the task force’s own forces become isolated or, in some circumstances, if German nationals are unable to make their own way to the designated assembly point. In these cases, forces from the evacuation operation task force or multinational partners may conduct a limited rescue and recovery operation. Hostage release operations during an evacuation operation, in which hostages and abducted citizens are freed, are a task for special operations forces.
What are evacuation operations, how are they conducted and who frees German hostages? Questions and answers about the Bundeswehr evacuating German nationals:
