The Army Staff, in the meaning of the Army general staff, of the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

(german: Führungsstab des Heeres - Fü H) was a department of the Federal Ministry of Defence and one of the five staff headquarters in the military command of the ''

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

''. The ''Army Staff'' was thus at the same time a ministerial division and the highest level of military command within the German Army. It was merged with the other high command authorities of the German Army to form the Army Command (''Kommando Heer'') in 2012. In 2012, there existed in MOD Germany supreme military command authority as follows: * Armed Forces Staff (Führungsstab der Streitkräfte – Fü S; General Staff of the Armed Forces) *Army Staff (Führungsstab des Heeres – Fü H; Army General Staff) *''Air Force Staff'' (Führungsstab der Luftwaffe – Fü L; Air Force General Staff) *''Navy Staff'' (Führungsstab der Marine – Fü M) *''Medical Staff'' (Führungsstab des Sanitätsdienstes – Fü San; Medical Service Staff)

Command

The ''Army Staff'' was commanded by the Inspector of the Army (''Inspekteur des Heeres''). The Inspector holds the rank of Generalleutnant, and commanded the ''Army Staff'', reporting to the Federal Minister of Defence. The

General Inspector of the Bundeswehr A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

and the Armed Forces Staff who work for him are only authorised to issue directives to the ''Army Staff'' in the fields of development and the realisation of the overall concept for the Bundeswehr. The ''Army Staff'' comprised about 180 soldiers and civil servants.

Mission

The ''Army Staff'' was the highest level of command in the

. The staff ensured the readiness of the Army from a materiel and personnel perspective. In addition the two command pillars of the Army, the

Army Forces Command The Army Forces Command (german: Heeresführungskommando) in Falckenstein Barracks in Koblenz was one of the two leadership pillars of the German Army, together with the German Army Office, before it was merged into the Army Command (''Komma ...

and the

Army Office The Army Office (german: Heeresamt, HA) in Cologne was one of the two command pillars of the German Army, alongside the Army Forces Command (''Heeresführungskommando, HFüKdo''), until both were merged to create the current Army Command (''Komm ...

, were subordinate to the ''Army Staff''. Furthermore, the staff supported the Inspector of the Army and the Federal Minister of Defence in their ministerial duties.

Deputy Inspector General of the Army

The ''Deputy Inspector General of the Army'' (in the Army Staff of MOD Germany) appointment was normally assigned to a

three star rank Military star ranking is military terminology, used to describe General officer, general and flag officers. Within Member states of NATO, NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to Ranks and insignia of NATO, OF-6–10. Star ranking One–star ...

, OF8-general ( Generalleutnant / lieutenant general) rank.

External links

Federal archive on its historyWebsite of the ''Army Staff''
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 German Army (1956–present) Bundeswehr Staff (military) Military units and formations established in 1957 Military units and formations disestablished in 2012