Wolfram Kühn (born 7 November 1952) is a retired

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

Vizeadmiral (abbreviated VAdm) is a senior naval flag officer rank in several German-speaking countries, equivalent to Vice admiral. Austria-Hungary In the Austro-Hungarian Navy there were the flag-officer ranks ''Kontreadmiral'' (also spelled ''Kont ...

. He served as Deputy

Inspector General of the Bundeswehr Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

and Inspector of the Joint Support Service from 2006 to his retirement in 2012.

Military career

Kühn entered 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 ...

in 1972. After basic naval officer training, he studied Economics and Business Administration at the

Bundeswehr University of Munich 200px, Entrance to the university Bundeswehr University Munich (german: Universität der Bundeswehr München, UniBw München) is one of two research universities in Germany at federal level that both were founded in 1973 as part of the German Ar ...

. After graduating in 1977 he served on the

Destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

Schleswig-Holstein as a

CIC CIC may refer to: Organizations Canada * Cadet Instructors Cadre, a part of the Canadian Armed Forces * Canadian Infantry Corps, renamed in 1947 to Royal Canadian Infantry Corps * Canadian International Council * Canadian Islamic Congress * Chemi ...

officer. In 1979 he was promoted to ''

Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...

'' (captain lieutenant) and assigned to the Territorial Command of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of the commander, who was also the highest German responsible within NATO's

Allied Forces Northern Europe Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) was the northern Major Subordinate Command of NATO's Allied Command Europe (ACE), located at Kolsås outside Oslo. In the case of war with the Soviet Union, AFNORTH would assume supreme command of all Allie ...

(AFNORTH). From 1982 to 1984 Kühn served as department head of the supply department on

Frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

Rheinland-Pfalz. Selected for the Admiral Staff Officer Course at the

Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr ) , established = 15 May 1957(15 October 1810 as ''Prussian Military Academy'') , type = Staff college and senior military academy of the German Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr , endowment = , staff = , faculty = , president = , provost = , principal ...

it was during this course that he was promoted to ''

Korvettenkapitän () is the lowest ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies. Austro-Hungary Belgium Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer rank () in the German Navy. Address The off ...

'' (corvette captain). From 1986 to 1987 Kühn served as an instructor and company commander at the Navy Supply School in List (

Sylt Sylt (; da, Sild; Sylt North Frisian, Söl'ring North Frisian: ) is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, and well known for the distinctive shape of its shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian ...

). From 1988 to 1989 he again was posted at the Territorial Command of Schleswig-Holstein, this time as a logistics

staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

(G4). Later he served at the

Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

until 1991. From 1991 until 1993 Kühn was assigned to the Navy Supply School as Division Commander and Vice Commander of the school. During the next two years he again served at the Ministry of Defense within the Navy Staff and was responsible for general issues, logistics and procurement. In 1994 he studied at the Defence Resources Management Institute (DRMI) of the

Naval Postgraduate School The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. It offers master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 70 fields of study to the U.S. Armed Forces, DOD ci ...

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Back in Germany from 1994 to 1997 he served as Chief Financial Officer in the Navy Support Command in

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

. From 1997 to 1998 he studied at the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

in Washington, D.C. and gained a Master of Science in National Security Strategy. From 1998 to 2001 he was assigned to the Federal Ministry of Defence as a section chief. From 2001 to 2002 Kühn served as

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of the Joint Support Command. From 2002 to 2002 he was Staff Department Chief in the Navy Staff. In 2004 he was Chief of Staff of the

. In 2006 he was promoted to ''Vizeadmiral'' (vice admiral) and appointed Inspector of the Joint Support Service and Deputy Inspector General of the Bundeswehr. On 28 March 2012, Kühn handed over his post to

Manfred Nielson Manfred Nielson (born February 25, 1955) is a retired admiral of the German Navy who last served as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia. Career Education and first assignments After finishing his A-levels ...

, his retirement from military service marked by a ''

Großer Zapfenstreich The ("Grand Tattoo", "Beating Retreat") is a military ceremony performed in Germany and Austria. It is similar to the military tattoo ceremony performed in English-speaking countries, and is the most important ceremonial act executed by the Ger ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuhn, Wolfram Vice admirals of the German Navy Living people 1952 births Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Bundeswehr University Munich alumni