[Rummenigge]

Hmmm i had to have a look first...

so its 250 000 people in total (during cold war times we had nearly 500 000 people active)

We have a duty-to-serve for every young man in principle but you may bail for a civil service instead. (I guess it's a good thing every man has to serve his country for limited time) - but it's discussed every now and then to turn the bundeswehr into a just-professionals army as yours or the british.

It was the social democrats together with the largely pacifistic green party that ended the debate about whether or not the bundeswehr may be used outside germany and that was not longer ago then 1994.

(So you see our 'socialists and pacifists' couldn't shake off responsibility entirely when they where in charge)

Since these times we have special forces (KSK) but only around 1000 heads. The GSG9 troop that was set up after the munich debacle and that is specialized in anti terror tactics is no army unit but part of the german federal police. (They were send to iraq shortly after gorund troops where in baghdad - our social democrate chancelor of that days denied the detachment of german soldiers to iraq - so we had to send the police ;-)

read some more on wikipedia...

[redgolum]

Thanks.

I knew that the old West German army was much bigger than the current Bundeswehr is, but didn't know how much. I also knew that in the Cold War, most of the long range transport and logistics was to be handled by the US and UK.