Support command ready for action

As an important step in the reorganization of the Bundeswehr, the Support Command of the Bundeswehr in Bonn achieved its full capability to fulfill its mission in April 2025. From the Armed Forces Base in Bonn and Central Medical Service in Koblenz, as well as the Planning Office in Berlin and other offices of the previous Territorial Command, the Support Area was created. With a total of about 55,000 positions, it is the second largest organizational area of the Bundeswehr.

Under the leadership of the Support Command of the Bundeswehr, the Support Area combines operationally essential capabilities in logistics, NBC defense, and military police for the endurance and survival capabilities, and thus the resilience of the Armed Forces. The Support Area also stands for the fundamental vitality and functionality of the entire Bundeswehr and has a special significance beyond the defense department in the context of the overall state cooperation.

Furthermore, the Support Command of the Bundeswehr is the central control element for healthcare as well as the medical service in the Bundeswehr. The integration of the Medical Service into the Support Area took place with the establishment and subordination of the Bundeswehr Medical Care Command as a specialized command also in April 2025.

With the subordinated and strengthened capability and specialized commands, the Support Area enables tailor-made solutions from a single source in the supportive capabilities always and everywhere needed by the Armed Forces. Only by bundling limited resources can maximum synergies be tapped into. As a result, this enables the Armed Forces to achieve maximum effectiveness with the greatest possible efficiency within the foreseeable resources.

The professional independence of the capability and specialized commands for logistics, NBC defense, military police, and medical service is the key to success in developing each capability individually and collectively from a single source and to gain uniformly trained, equipped, interoperable, and mission-ready forces.

Lieutenant General Gerald Funke is responsible as the first commander for the leadership of the Support Command of the Bundeswehr. General Medical Officer Dr. med. Ralf Hoffmann serves as his deputy and commander of the Central Medical Service of the Bundeswehr.

For the new commander, the further orientation of the Support Area towards national and alliance defense remains "guiding." The year 2029 represents an important interim goal in terms of threat assessment. However, this does not release the Support Area from the obligation to be operational at all times with the existing equipment and to continuously further develop.