Women in the Bundeswehr: Kramp-Karrenbauer and Lieutenant Colonels

yesDuring a confidential table talk at the Federal Ministry of Defense in early July, the participants agreed. Before the end of this legislative period, the “order of the federal president on the rank designations and uniforms of soldiers” should be changed. The aim of the reform: The “introduction of female rank designations” in the Bundeswehr. For example, it should not be called “Mrs. Major” as before, but in the future “Mrs. Majorin”.

Some details were also fixed in the round. For example, “before the change takes effect, a transition period of about one year should be created during which the new rank designations can already be used.” There was also agreement that “the terms captain and colonel should not have gender.” So there should be no head wife or colonel, but a sergeant or boatwoman, a lieutenant colonel or a brigadier general.

The minutes of the discussion table were approved by Secretary of State Gerd Hoofe, the Head of the Personnel Department, Lieutenant General Klaus von Heimendahl, and the Head of the Department of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Kai Rohrschneider. Subsequently, the head of the legal department, Andreas Conradi, was tasked with drawing up “a specific implementation proposal”. A time and communication plan should also be developed, he said. Next week, on September 15, Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer will finally have a “proposed decision” on the table.

For the president of the CDU, the issue is quite delicate. There have already been several attempts by the ranks of the Bundeswehr equality officers or recruiting staff to change the rank designations. The reason given was that almost 20 years after all military careers had been opened to women, the time had come to express the equality between male and female soldiers in this way as well. In addition, the female ranks and the associated image of the modern armed forces facilitated the recruitment of women for the troops.

But even the most committed advocate for women at the top of the Bundeswehr to date, former minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU), did not address the issue. Reason: Her advisers last explained to the politician two years ago that all previous polls within the armed forces had one clear result: the majority of women in the Bundeswehr rejected specific gender ranges.

Even now there is resistance. The plans of the confidential group did not remain confidential, but have long been discussed emotionally, either on the radio or on the social networks. And there are letters from women in the armed forces, addressed to the ministry and also to defense commissioner Eva Högl (SPD).

He affirmed that the female ranks would manifest new differences. The equality requirements are met with the prefix “Ms.” Gender ranges are a top-down display of alterity, which is more detrimental than beneficial for the integration of women.

A modern army is also not characterized by special greetings, but by attractive jobs. As long as Kramp-Karrenbauer’s “Ready to Action Initiative” fails and male and female soldiers lack sufficient anti-fragmentation vests, combat clothing, and weapons, rank designations are a covert fig leaf.

Skepticism from other parties too

The women of the Defense Committee of the Bundestag see it in a similar way. It is “completely irrelevant” to her if there are female rankings, said FDP defense policy spokeswoman Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, WELT: “But I think the Bundeswehr has other concerns.”

SPD defense politician Siemtje Möller believes that it is “good, in principle, to think of non-discriminatory language. However, when I speak to female Bundeswehr members, they are not complaining about genderless rank, but about a lack of protective vests, too few boots, or empty clothing cabinets, so they don’t have an aviator suit in their size. ”. So the real problems of the troops were in them Material: “It is good to have a gender rank, but it does not solve the deficiencies in the equipment, especially for women”, says Möller.

Now it’s up to Kramp-Karrenbauer to decide the squad. She doesn’t want to commit yet. Equality of women and men is “a universal guiding principle in the business area of ​​the Federal Ministry of Defense,” said a spokeswoman for WELT’s request, linguistic equal treatment “one of many issues.” However, the minister had not yet been involved “in projects on this particular point.”

In any case, the debate is only relevant for quiet times. In combat, under the greatest pressure and danger to life, no one has time for the ranks. And the “Law on Equal Opportunities for Soldiers in the Bundeswehr” states that gender regulations “do not apply in case of tension and defense”.