Bundeswehr in transition: Germany slowly transforms its cold war defense force into modern expeditionary military

2011-09-14A decade after World War II, the Federal Republic of Germany created a new military meant only to defend the nation’s borders. The new force, called the Bundeswehr, prepared young men to fight against a possible invasion by the Soviet Union. But when the Soviet Union crumbled at the end of the 20th century, Germany was left with an antiquated military prepared for an enemy that no longer exists. In the two decades since, Germany has sought to reform its military, so it could deploy throughout the world like the American, French, and British forces. But the process has not been easy. Despite providing the third-largest force in NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, the Bundeswehr continues to lag behind other powerful countries in the number of troops it can send abroad. Experts say this may not change much in the coming years because politicians remain wary of deploying troops outside of Germany’s borders