Streitkräftebasis


Bundeswehr
Teilstreitkräfte or TSK
(Branches)
Heer
Luftwaffe
Marine
Organisationsbereiche
(Organisational areas)
Sanitätsdienst
Streitkräftebasis

Streitkräftebasis (Joint Support Service, SKB) is a branch of the German Bundeswehr established in October 2000 as a result of major reforms of the German Bundeswehr. It handles various logistics and organisational tasks of the German Armed Forces. It adds a fifth service-like organization to the four other major branches of the Bundeswehr, the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Medical Service. Unlike the roughly comparable British Defence Logistics Organisation and the Australian DOD's Support Command Australia, however, Germany's current military environment has led to a number of combat-associated commands being allotted to it.

Principally these are the residual German territorial defence structure embodied in the four Wehrbereichskommandos, or Military District Commands, and the national supervision of German military operations 'out of area', performed by the Einsatzführungskommando, usually translated as Bundeswehr Operations Command, which is headquartered at Potsdam. It was formed on the basis of the former IV (GE) Korps. Most of the remaining elements of the SKB have been reassigned from the Central Military Agencies of the Bundeswehr, encompassing a wide range of logistics agencies, schools, and other support units.

Germany is divided into four Wehrbereichskommandos (Military District Command). Each Military District Command controls several Landeskommandos (State Command) due to the federal structure of Germany. Previously this function was carried out by the Verteidigungsbezirkskommandos (VBKs) or Military Region commands (literally 'Defence District Commands'. These command authorities are in charge of all military facilities in their area of responsibility, and additionally of several supporting regiments. The top command authorities are the Streitkräfteunterstützungskommando (Joint Support Command) which is in charge of numerous of command and control roles. The Streitkräfteamt (Armed Forces Office) directs all schools, training and research centres, the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD), and the Armed Forces higher academies and universities.

Personnel

56,919 soldiers

Structure

External links