German ROE claim first kill in Afghanistan

[AntEater]

Originally Posted by Happy Times

What would Merkel be like if she didnt have a coalition goverment?

Jung is from her own Party, CDU
Problem is, Merkel is head of the CDU and Chancellor because a lot of powerful CDU state prime ministers (Koch of Hesse, Öttinger of Baden-Württemberg, Wulff of lower Saxony and formerly Stoiber of Bavaria) with huge egoes could not decide who's going to be Caesar, so Merkel stepped in that power vacuum.
None of these regional patriarchs is strong enough to command a majority.
She basically rules by displeasing no one. I suppose the SPD is often more accomodating than her own party.
Maybe if the CDU had a coalition with the FDP, Jung or another one of Kochs stooges might've gotten a less important post, but that is speculation.
The FDP would've claimed the foreign ministry, as they always do.

Regarding the ROE, that's exactly the question the soldiers ask themselves
Apparently the Fallschirmjäger normally shoot first and ask questions later when nobody's looking but here somebody looked.

Even more stupid is that the same rules also apply to the rapid reaction force.
This is a reinforced Panzergrenardier company, lightly motorized, but with a Marder Platoon attached and a mortar battery which is supposed to be the area commander's reserve for offensive operations.
When the Norwegians were still rapid reaction force, the german area commander used them to clear out Taleban positions, but the norwegians have a much more relaxed ROE.
A german unit basically would have to abide by this ROE while conducting a frontal assault on an enemy position.

Many blame this on the parliamentary authorization. Like in the US, in germany longer military operations must be authorized by the parliament.
But both the parliamentary authorization and the UN mandate give us a lot of leeway.
It was Jung and his stooges in the ministry that covered their own asses by interpreting these mandates in the most ristrictive way possible.
Problem is, Jung and many of the upper generals are scared ****less of the german press.
Keep in mind that while nothing really exciting happens, german soldiers are a secretive bunch.
You won't find any soldiers discussing their experiences on blogs or forums, and hardly anyone writing books.
Many still have the mind set that if you're a civilian and interested in military affairs, you're either a right wing militarist or an east german spy
:rotfl:
The official press statements from the MoD are so detached from reality that their Afghanistan might as well be on a different planet than the one the rest of NATO is in.

[1480]

Didn't anyone learn from Somalia.

[kurtz]

Originally Posted by Zero Niner

I wish you Germans would get over WW2. I appreciate the fact that German society still feels remorse over the war, but c'mon! This is more than 60 years after the fact. To hobble your soldiers (and that's what they are) in a quasi-war scenario just doesn't make sense to me.

You guys need to leave the past behind and adjust to modern day realities and not wallow in some sort of masochistic nostalgia for the days of the Third Reich.

yeah c'mon it's just like riding a bike!

[August]

Originally Posted by AntEater

Many still have the mind set that if you're a civilian and interested in military affairs, you're either a right wing militarist or an east german spy

Geez no wonder Skybird hates me!

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by Skybird

...then at least to avoid open conflict with the hegemon demanding their participation - by appeasing him with obedience - and still evading the risks.

Hegemon? Last I checked, you guys were free to do as you wish. Is that how you see the US?

-S