German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius aims to strengthen the armed forces' defence capabilities with a unified operational command and prepare for the possible reintroduction of compulsory military service, he said in Berlin on Thursday.
The Bundeswehr is to be reorganized along four branches with a joint support command, Pistorius announced at the presentation of the new structure.
In addition to the army, air force and navy, a fourth branch - the Cyber and Information Space (CIR) force, which specializes in electronic warfare and cyberoperations, reconnaissance and the protection of electronic infrastructure - will be upgraded to a separate branch of the military.
"The threat situation in Europe has intensified. It must be clear to everyone: We are defending our country and our alliance partners and are making it clear - again with this step - that no one should get the idea of attacking us as a NATO territory," Pistorius said.
"We have to convey this credibly and truthfully, and the Bundeswehr has to be positioned in line with the aforementioned requirements. I have given the armed forces six months to adapt."
The aim is also to allocate responsibilities more clearly and avoid duplicate structures, he said. "This is what matters in an emergency - or actually, one should say: in the event of war, in the event of defence. That is the aim we are pursuing with this reform."
The defence administration will "now be geared towards implementing the reinstatement of compulsory military service on the basis of this decision." If the country needs to be defended, there would be immediate conscription and the task would be to be able to implement this.
But whether Germany could or should reintroduce compulsory military service has been much debated. Pistorius is having models for this examined and is orientating himself on how Scandinavian countries handle this. The number of Bundeswehr soldiers has recently fallen to 181,500.
The law stipulates that suspended compulsory military service for men is revived if a state of tension or defence need occurs.
To date, the Bundeswehr has had an operational command in Schwielowsee near Potsdam for the planning and control of foreign missions such as in West Africa or the frigate Hessen in the Red Sea.
In addition, a territorial command for national defence was created in Berlin, where the operational plan (OPLAN) for the national defence of Germany was also developed. The two bodies have very different tasks, but also some possible overlaps.
In November, Pistorius proclaimed "war capability as a maxim for action" in new defence policy guidelines. He said that Inspector General Carsten Breuer and a state secretary should also take a look at the structures of the Bundeswehr itself and explicitly also at command organizations.
Pistorius wants to take action against duplicate structures that hinder and hold each other up.