Bundeswehr Homeland Defence Command

As the highest national command for Bundeswehr operations in Germany, the Bundeswehr Homeland Defence Command assumes responsibility for all Bundeswehr territorial tasks. The establishment of the Bundeswehr Homeland Defence Command has significantly strengthened and consolidated the Bundeswehr’s national command and control capability under one roof. This means that command and control of all national operations across the entire mission spectrum from peace to crisis and war is exercised from a single agency. The individual armed services act as troop contributors and assign their servicemen and women to the National Territorial Commander and his command for the duration of the mission.

The mission spectrum ranges from the provision of support for disaster relief operations, to assignments involving hybrid threat scenarios, the deployment of troops from Germany to the mission theatre, and the performance of territorial tasks in the framework of national and collective defence. The establishment of the command also means that decision making regarding homeland security, host nation support and other territorial tasks now takes place under a single roof and responsibility is concentrated in a central location. Hence, the tasks of the new command extend far beyond subsidiary assistance tasks.

The Bundeswehr Homeland Defence Command directly reports to the Chief of Defence and exercises command and control of all 16 regional territorial commands, the German elements of the Multinational Joint Headquarters Ulm, the Multinational CIMICCivil Military Co-Operation Command, the training area headquarters and the Federal Ministry of Defence Guard Battalion. The Bundeswehr Homeland Defence Command also exercises command and control over the German elements of NATO’s Joint Support Enabling Command in Ulm. The Bundeswehr Homeland Defence Command is the “sister command” of the Bundeswehr Joint Forces Operations Command, which is responsible for operations abroad.