Picking up a stick and uses it as a gun is what young children would usually do. The dramatic play can lead to wonderful learning. It’s an important part of early childhood development, as teachers would tell you. With Made-in-China fake plastic guns getting cheaper, it’s hard to imagine if kids nowadays still use sticks as guns.

 

But when real soldiers are reduced to using sticks, or “broomsticks” to be precise, as guns then it’s no longer amusing. Such scenario would become an embarrassing episode, regardless how poor a nation is. What if a country once ruled by Adolf Hitler has become this laughing stock? Yes, Hitler would turn in his grave if he is told what Germany has turned into.

 

As U.S. President Donald Trump blasts German Chancellor Angela Merkel over NATO pathetic spending, a leaked report reveals how the Germany’s military was so underfunded that its troops used – BROOMSTICKS – painted black as mock weapons during a defence exercise. Yes, the German armed forces appear to have taken its military training to a new level.

Apparently, the humiliating incident took place during exercises for NATO’s rapid response force, formed in reaction to the Ukraine crisis, which is supposed to be ready to deploy anywhere it is needed at very short notice. The Germany soldiers affected were in the Panzergrenadierbataillon 371 that took part in the exercises in Norway.

 

General Harald Kujat, a former chief of staff of the German armed forces and chairman of the NATO military committee, described the latest incident as a “huge embarrassment”. He said – “If that is not the case, then both for NATO, and for the Federal Republic of Germany, this is a huge embarrassment. The new task force is supposed to be ready to deploy wherever a NATO member is threatened.”

 

During the World War II, the Allied forces would find ways to avoid combat with German’s Tiger, Panther or Panzer tanks. Today, thanks to Merkel government, the German troops were missing 31% of their MG3 general-purpose machine guns, 41% of their P8 handguns, and more than three-quarters of their Lucie night-vision devices.

As a result, German soldiers have little choice but resorted to painting broomsticks black and attaching them to Boxer armoured vehicles to simulate gun barrels. After the humiliating drama was exposed, the shortages of handguns and machine-guns have since been rectified. Still, the German Defence Ministry has downplayed the incident.

 

A spokesperson for the Defence Ministry claimed – “In the case of the Boxer armoured vehicle, it was being used as a mobile headquarters, and a weapon is not foreseen and not necessary for a mobile headquarters. It was not a fighting vehicle. So we have no explanation why the soldiers would simulate a weapon.” Amusingly, all six submarines were out of service for repairs.

 

But Panzergrenadierbataillon 371, a mechanised infantry battalion, has already been assigned to the new Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), which NATO agreed to form in response to the Ukraine crisis at last year’s summit in Wales. And the new task force – known as “Spearhead” – is supposed to be ready to deploy wherever a NATO member is threatened.

Opposition politicians have expressed concerns about Germany’s ability to defend itself and other European allies, given that even some of the most elite forces lack basic equipment. It remains unclear how many broomsticks were substituted for machine guns though. It was also revealed that Europe’s armies only have one tenth of the strength of the U.S. Army.

 

Andreas Krause, the German navy’s inspector, said – “It does not frustrate me but it is very annoying. At the same time I say that this unfortunate development is the inevitable consequence of the last 25 years. Extreme savings were made on spare parts procurement and capacities in naval shipbuilding were shut down.”

 

Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen admitted last year that shortages were so serious Germany could not meet all of its NATO commitments. When a parliamentary report was presented, it was revealed that only 42 of Germany’s 109 Typhoon fighters are available for immediate use because of maintenance issues.

The report also exposed that only 38 of its 89 Tornado bombers are operational, not to mention only 280 of the army’s 406 Marten tanks are combat ready. Just last month, another parliamentary report showed how members of Germany’s KSK special forces had to pull out of a NATO joint exercise because there was no operational helicopter available for them.

 

Under a NATO agreement, members are supposed to spend at least 2% of the GDP on defence, but Germany currently spends only 1.3%. Angela Merkel is struggling to raise the defence spending – her defence minister Ursula said it would take the year 2025 to reach 1.5%. Merkel, however, has been criticised for siphoning money to be spent on refugees / migrants.

 

As much as €20 billion (US$23.4 billion; £17.7 billion; RM94.5 billion) was spent on illegal migrants / refugees in 2016 alone by Merkel administration. She happily welcomed 1.2 million Muslim refugees into Germany in 2015, and in the process throwing billions for accommodation, integration programmes, healthcare, language lessons and other projects.

 

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July 11th, 2018 by financetwitter

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