The Bundeswehr Joint Support Command
Effective support forces are crucial to ensuring the warfighting capability and sustainability of armed forces. But why is this the case?
Effective support forces are crucial to ensuring the warfighting capability and sustainability of armed forces. But why is this the case?
The Bundeswehr Joint Support Command guarantees the operational readiness of the Bundeswehr at this turning point in history – in peacetime, in wartime and in hybrid threat scenarios. The Command comprises the support capabilities required in all areas of the Bundeswehr, that is, medical care, logistics, the military police (including the FMoDFederal Ministry of Defence Guard Battalion), CBRNchemical, biological, radiological, nuclear defence, civil-military cooperation, and the services provided by the Bundeswehr Office for Defence Planning and the Armed Forces Office. Its approximately 55,000 military and civilian personnel ensure the sustainability of the troops. This makes the Bundeswehr Joint Support Command a critical factor in Germany’s defence capability.
"If Bundeswehr forces are to be survivable, they require well-equipped support forces. Our capabilities make deterrence credible and ensure the warfighting capability of the Bundeswehr."
No warfighting capability without support: The Bundeswehr Joint Support Command ensures the troops’ protection and supply and, in doing so, their sustainability. It pools all joint capabilities, ranging from health care and logistics to civil-military cooperation. Why is the performance of these tasks decisive on the battlefield and what is the Bundeswehr Joint Support Command’s contribution to Germany’s defence capability?
What added value is provided by the Bundeswehr Joint Support Command? Below, you will find answers to the most important questions concerning the Command’s mission, structure and significance.
Without the resources and capabilities of the Bundeswehr Joint Support Command, no tank will roll, no aircraft will take off and no ship will put to sea. Support is the decisive factor in achieving defence capability and credible deterrence.
The Bundeswehr Joint Support Command has been established to enhance the Bundeswehr’s warfighting capability. By pooling support capabilities such as health care, logistics, military policing and CBRNchemical, biological, radiological, nuclear defence, the Bundeswehr can respond to threats with greater flexibility and thus make deterrence more credible.
The Bundeswehr Joint Support Command ensures protection of and supply to Bundeswehr forces as well as these forces’ sustainability, defence capability and warfighting capability. To this end, it focuses on the requirements of the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Cyber and Information Domain Service and on Germany’s commitments towards NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The Bundeswehr Joint Support Command pools all combat support tasks of the Bundeswehr. This includes health care, logistics, military policing, CBRNchemical, biological, radiological, nuclear defence, planning (in the sense of strategic development of Bundeswehr capabilities), civil-military cooperation, and multinational integration in NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization and the EUEuropean Union as well as military music, sports promotion, conceptual development of the reserve, and veterans’ affairs.
The Bundeswehr Joint Support Command consists of a total of 55,000 military and civilian personnel. Hence, it is the second largest major organisational element of the Bundeswehr and is larger than the Air Force, Navy, and Cyber and Information Domain Service combined.
Lieutenant General Gerald Funke is the Chief of the Bundeswehr Joint Support Command Headquarters, and Lieutenant General (Medical Corps) Dr Ralf Hoffmann is his deputy. In their previous assignments, Lieutenant General Funke and Lieutenant General Dr Hoffmann served as Commander of the Bundeswehr Logistics Command and Surgeon General of the Bundeswehr respectively. This fact clearly underlines the significance of the two largest task areas of the Bundeswehr Joint Support Command.
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