BERLIN, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The work of German troops continues to be hampered by the "miserable condition" of its equipment despite promises of reform, said an official report published on Tuesday.
The annual document, compiled by Hans-Peter Bartels, armed forces commissioner of the Federal Parliament (Bundestag), said personnel and material shortages had become "even worse" in recent years.
While Bartels praised a pledge by Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen in 2015 to reverse the trend, he noted that "proclamations alone do not improve anything." So far, "little or no" improvements had materialized, Bartels added.
The scathing report described the operational availability of weapons systems as "dramatically low" and estimated that 21,000 officer and sergeant posts were currently vacant, placing intense strain on the Armed Forces.
Contrary to reassuring statements made by the Ministry of Defense in recent days, Bartels expressed serious doubts as to whether German soldiers could fulfill tasks related to a greater presence of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Eastern Europe in their desolate state.
To alleviate the situation, the armed forces commissioner suggested implementing several "fast-track projects" to improve the daily operations of military personnel. These would include acquiring additional boots, walkie-talkies, and night-vision goggles.
In any case, however, meaningful change could only be achieved with an injection of additional funds. Germany currently spends 1.26 percent of its annual gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, below the two-percent goal enshrined by NATO. Bartels complained that the recent grand coalition agreement between political parties the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU) and German Social Democrats (SPD), did not offer "any substantial" improvement in this regard.
Nonetheless, Volker Wieker, inspector general for the German armed forces, rejected the notion conveyed by the annual report on Tuesday that the army was in complete organizational and financial disarray.
Wieker insisted that soldiers were doing an excellent job fulfilling their international commitments.
"I certainly have never heard any complaints, neither in Germany, nor from our allies," he argued. Wieker admitted the situation concerning operational availability was not satisfactory, but pointed to a developmental plan to close related gaps which would run until 2030.
Spiegel magazine further reported that the Ministry of Defense had voiced concerns over the harmful effects of a recent wave of negative publicity on staff morale and the ability to attract new recruits.
"This awful image is a cause of great worry," Spiegel cited a ministry spokesperson as saying.
