The Quest for Relevant Air Power

GERMAN Air Force │ 159
minister, with the role of the Joint Chief of Staff (Generalinspekteur
der Bundeswehr) relegated to one of an intermediary. 46
A more robust joint command architecture was only established
in autumn 2001. 47 The mission of the Operations Command
in Potsdam is national planning and conduct of out-of-area
operations on the operational level. 48 The Operations Command
can also function as an operations headquarters in the context of
EU operations, whereby a nucleus of German staff is augmented
nationally and multinationally. 49 Besides this joint command and
planning cell, the Berlin Decree of 21 January 2005 elevated the
position of the Joint Chief of Staff as compared to the single service
chiefs. Regardless of single service boundaries, the Joint Chief
of Staff bears the responsibility for force structuring and for the
planning and conduct of operations. The single service chiefs are
responsible for the provision of combat ready units. 50
Defence Policy and Its Impact upon the German Air Force.
To respond to the challenges of the post–Cold War era, the GAF
has been undergoing three major reforms. These reforms have
been named after the new structures the GAF has been implementing.
Air Force Structures 4, 5, and 6 have led to major force
reductions, summarized in table 2. Reforms underlying these reductions
are discussed next.
Table 2. GAF reductions during the post–Cold War era
Prior to 1990
(West Germany)
Air Force Structure 6
(Planned)
Military personnel 110,000 34,500 + 28,000 a
Civilian personnel 21,500 ˜ 6,500
Combat aircraft 755 b 262
Flying wings 18 7
GBAD systems 176 24
SAM groups/battalions 15 6
Tactical air command
and control units 14 3
Adapted from Hans-Werner Jarosch, Immer im Einsatz: 50 Jahre Luftwaffe (Hamburg, Germany:
Verlag E. S. Mittler & Sohn, 2005), 174.
a
Air Force Structure 6 envisages 18,000 GAF personnel being allocated to the newly established
Joint Service Support, with a further 10,000 engaged in training and education within the GAF,
the German armed forces in general, as well as in civilian facilities. “Further Development of the
Luftwaffe—Luftwaffe Structure 6,” in CPM Forum: Luftwaffe 2005—The German Air Force Today
and Tomorrow, managing director Wolfgang Flume and project director Jϋrgen Hensel (Sankt Augustin,
Germany: CPM Communication Presse Marketing GmbH, 2005), 47.
b
Includes Navy Tornado aircraft.