Berlin, Oct 02: German Defence Minister Peter Struck announced plans today to cut the size of the German Army to a quarter of a million, coupled with reductions in civilian staff and bases. Presenting the outlines of his plan at a press conference, he said the Army should reduce in size from its current strength of 285,000 troops, of which a significant minority are on compulsory national service, to 250,000 by 2010.
At the same time, the number of civilian staff should fall from 128,000 to just 75,000, he added. Bases would also be closed. Struck did not give figures but a news report, citing military sources, said some 200 faced the axe.
Struck said the Army's size and existing structures were no longer in tune with military demands. The new motto was "class, not mass". Germany's current defence budget stands at 28.3 billion dollars a year to 2006. Bureau Report