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Germany’s soldiers of misfortune
Politico Europe ^ | 15 Feb 2019 | Matthew Karnitsching

Posted on 02/19/2019 3:04:10 PM PST by Rummyfan

Fighter jets and helicopters that don’t fly. Ships and submarines that can’t sail. Severe shortages of everything from ammunition to underwear.

If it sounds like an exaggeration to compare Germany’s Bundeswehr to “The Gang that Couldn’t Shoot Straight,” look no further than the army’s standard-issue assault rifle, Heckler & Koch’s G36. The government decided to scrap the weapon after discovering that the gun misses its target if it’s too hot.

“There is neither enough personnel nor materiel, and often one confronts shortage upon shortage,” Hans-Peter Bartels, a Social Democrat MP charged with monitoring the Bundeswehr for parliament, concluded in a report published at the end of January. “The troops are far from being fully-equipped.”

Once one of the fiercest (and most brutal) fighting forces on earth, today’s German army increasingly looks more like a volunteer fire department — last month, mountain troops were dispatched to shovel snow from roofs in Bavaria — than a modern military machine.

On a recent trip to Lithuania, where about 450 German soldiers are stationed as part of a NATO mission to deter Russian aggression, U.S. officials were dismayed to discover Bundeswehr personnel communicating on unsecure mobile phones due to a shortage of secure radio equipment.

(Excerpt) Read more at politico.eu ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: army; europe; germany
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To: RitchieAprile

I don’t know whether they are unissued WW2 stock or post war production from somewhere. Did FN make them after the war? They are obviously for ceremonial purposes but I’d love to have one in that kind of shape. I’ve got one but it’s nowhere like those.


21 posted on 02/19/2019 3:30:55 PM PST by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
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To: DesertRhino

The Springfield M1903 is one of the better Mousers.


22 posted on 02/19/2019 3:33:11 PM PST by centurion316
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To: Rummyfan

I’m OK with this; less weaponry for the inevitable Sultan of Germany to use.


23 posted on 02/19/2019 3:33:15 PM PST by Jewbacca (The residents of Iroquois territory may not determine whether Jews may live in Jerusalem)
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To: elcid1970

And damn that voice to text. I said Kaiser, but my phone apparently thinks I need a cat for the barn or something. I can’t think of what else a mouser would be.


24 posted on 02/19/2019 3:33:40 PM PST by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ....)
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To: elcid1970; RitchieAprile

more pics https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/the-stahlhelm-in-latin-america-after-wwii/

25 posted on 02/19/2019 3:34:59 PM PST by Redcitizen
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To: Rummyfan

I do like the G36. Shoots good.


26 posted on 02/19/2019 3:35:46 PM PST by Redcitizen
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To: DesertRhino

And I didn’t say Kaiser, I said Mauser. Apparently the only War I’m in right now, is one with my voice to text as the enemy.


27 posted on 02/19/2019 3:37:36 PM PST by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ....)
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To: Rummyfan

Way back when - our compound was next to a German one. We had old equipment some of the demux units were hand made, our recorders were not the best. But we always figured the Germans had the state of the art stuff. One Xmas all the officers were off partying and the Germans invited us over to their ops.

They had what amounted to old crystal radios like I made when I was a kid, and their tape recorders were tiny things off-the-shelf from the PX.

When the Germans saw our stuff they just fell over it was so amazing to them - like something out of a sci-fi movie.

Now I have heard that they have only a dozen or so of working MBTs, half of which are in repair and others either not repairable or are parts only.

So nothing has changed in the past 50 years it seems.

Social issues rule and suck up all the money.


28 posted on 02/19/2019 3:38:28 PM PST by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now it is your turn ...)
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To: Bonemaker; Rummyfan

Yeah, very nice bolt action Mausers. Wonder when they were made and who made them.


29 posted on 02/19/2019 3:38:48 PM PST by dynachrome (Build the wall, deport them all.)
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To: centurion316

30 posted on 02/19/2019 3:39:01 PM PST by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
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To: Rummyfan

Europe needs a Bundeswehr strong enough to defend Germany from the moslems Merkel invited....but no stronger than that.


31 posted on 02/19/2019 3:39:06 PM PST by captain_dave
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To: 17th Miss Regt

The cuff titles are “Wachregiment”. “Guard Regiment”. It’s the German ceremonial unit.


32 posted on 02/19/2019 3:40:43 PM PST by captain_dave
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To: captain_dave

Wachbatallion ... Not regiment. Apologies.


33 posted on 02/19/2019 3:41:57 PM PST by captain_dave
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To: Bonemaker

Yes they are.Lot nicer than the one I have.


34 posted on 02/19/2019 3:45:30 PM PST by HANG THE EXPENSE (Life's tough.It's tougher when you're stupid.)
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To: Rummyfan
Back in my Cold War Army, the Germans were first rate soldiers. Their tankers competed with us at Grafenwohr. We figured they and the Brits at least would stand with us if the Sov's came across the border.

Really sad to see what's become of them.

35 posted on 02/19/2019 3:54:33 PM PST by colorado tanker
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To: DesertRhino
"I think the best mousers were built in Sweden. But to my knowledge they never built in 98 and stopped at the 96"

Swedish Mausers are like Swiss watches.


36 posted on 02/19/2019 3:56:50 PM PST by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
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To: Rummyfan

well, the Fourth Reich doesn’t need good weapons, its got the EU, European Central Bank, and ICC


37 posted on 02/19/2019 3:57:37 PM PST by faithhopecharity (E)
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To: Rummyfan

Why are we paying for their defense?

These people are no allies of ours.


38 posted on 02/19/2019 4:10:27 PM PST by FLT-bird
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To: PAR35

According to an article I read, none of the Kriegsmarine’s 6 U-boats are seaworthy. They’re all confined to port.

To call it pathetic would be to give too much credit.


39 posted on 02/19/2019 4:14:09 PM PST by FLT-bird
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To: RitchieAprile

Heckler & Koch. Which has a good reputation for quality. The G36 was a “compromise” weapons platform. They probably would’ve been better off if they’d kept the easts AK74 M’s after reunification.

CC


40 posted on 02/19/2019 4:18:31 PM PST by Celtic Conservative (My cats are more amusing than 200 channels worth of TV.)
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