Armed Forces of Germany

Germany is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In 1999 Germany participated in an armed conflict for the first time since World War II during NATO's intervention in Kosovo.

Previously, Germany made a token military contribution to Operation Desert Storm in 1991 (by deploying an air squadron to Turkey) but later refused to participate in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. However, Germany's military has participated in many United Nations (UN)-sanctioned peacekeeping operations, including those in Afghanistan, Djibouti, and the former Yugoslavia.

Germany's military consists of 284,500 active-duty personnel and 358,650 reserves. The active-duty troops, who normally serve for nine months, are assigned to the various services as follows: army (191,350), navy (25,650), and air force (67,500). The reserves, who are enlisted personnel up to age 45 and commissioned and non-commissioned officers up to age 60, are assigned as follows: army (297,300), navy (11,500), and air force (49,850).

Reflecting the realities of the post-Cold War era, Germany's military is moving away from territorial defense toward readiness to participate in multilateral operations under the aegis of the UN, NATO, European Union, and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. This new vision for the military is articulated in an official document issued in May 2003 called Defense Policy Guidelines. As part of this transformation, troop strength will be reduced by about 35,000 to about 250,000.