German army used broomsticks in NATO exercise

[unhappycamper]

http://hamptonroads.com/2015/02/german-army-used-broomsticks-nato-exercise

German army used broomsticks in NATO exercise
By Rick Noack
The Washington Post
© February 19, 2015

The German army has faced a shortage of equipment for years, but the situation has recently become so precarious that some soldiers took matters into their own hands.

On Tuesday, German broadcaster ARD revealed that German soldiers tried to hide the lack of arms by replacing heavy machine guns with broomsticks during a NATO exercise last year. After painting the wooden sticks black, the German soldiers swiftly attached them to the top of armored vehicles, according to a confidential army report which was leaked to ARD.

A defense ministry spokesperson said the use of broomsticks was not a common practice, and that the decision of the involved soldiers was "hard to comprehend." According to the ministry, the armored vehicles were furthermore not supposed to be armed. It remains unclear how many broomsticks were substituted for machine guns.

The awkward revelation on Tuesday came at the worst possible moment for Germany's defense ministry. The same day, Ukraine's army was about to suffer a defeat in the town of Debaltseve, putting a renewed focus on the question whether Europe's NATO allies would be able to manage the crisis militarily — without an American intervention, if necessary.

[jakeXT]

1. I hope they were straight sticks

BERLIN — Germany’s defense ministry has temporarily halted new orders of its military’s standard assault rifle while it probes complaints the weapon doesn’t shoot straight, a news report said Sunday.

German troops in Afghanistan in recent years voiced concerns over the G36 automatic rifle made by Heckler & Koch, saying it became inaccurate when its barrel heated up in prolonged firefights.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/06/23/alleged-hk-g36-accuracy-problems/

[DetlefK]

2. The german army has been left derelict for years.

A few pieces of shiny state-of-the-art equipment for the cameras and the rest rots.

For example: Germany's fleet of transport-helicopters is so old that ~80% are defunct. And nobody cared! Then, one day, an urgent transport was scheduled and no helicopter was ready for a flight. The media took note and THEN, ALL OF A SUDDEN, the german Ministry of Defence cared about defunct helicopters.

The same happened with the "Marder", a light tank for mechanized infantry-units, dating from the 1970s. The Marders were so old, they were practically falling apart. They were the shame of the german army, already 10 years ago. NOW they are being replaced with a new tank.



Germany has neither interest nor need for an army. Accordingly, nobody really wants to spend money on it that could be used for social issues.
And I still think ending the draft in Germany was a mistake. You could even choose between military (short service, good pay) and civil-service (long service, bad pay)!

[newfie11]

3. I wish all armies only used broomsticks. Nt

[Fred Sanders]

4. I see no problem with this. Even though it is just more corporate war propaganda.

Turning guns into broomsticks.....armies into farmers....about time.

[mwrguy]

5. Good

I wish ours was like that.