I think that article is very biased. It leaves out quite a lot of things.
The modernization of the Bundeswehr is already well under way. We will receive new IFV this year (or the next, I'm not sure anymore), the soldiers have G36 rifles, the Leopard2 is regarded by some as the best all round tank, the Luftwaffe has it's Eurofighter Typhoons and Tornadoes, the army flyboys have the new Tiger helicopters and the navy is the proud owner of some hydrogen submarines. So to point at the German army and call it all out outdated and ineffeective is simply wrong.
The main problem is that a lot of the heavier stuff (tanks, IFV) simply is not sent to Afghanistan for reasons that elude me. Another problem is that a lot of rather cheap material is outdated or even non-existent. When I served in 2001/2002 our radios for example where a total disaster. Many soldiers even had to buy their own night vision equipment because they didn't get any when going abroad (at least it has been like that a few years ago maybe something was done about that by now).
And finally, as Skybird already stated, we cant send conscripts to foreign countries. There is a paragraph in our constitution that forbids that. That paragraph should make sure that Germany can never again start a war (it's difficult to raid your neighbours if most of your soldiers have to stay home
). Only professional soldiers can be sent over there.