German Joint Forces Command

The German Joint Forces Command is responsible for the Bundeswehr’s national and joint planning, conduct and evaluation of operations. It is a central point of contact for civil authorities at the federal and state levels, and a single point of contact for the armed forces of friendly nations as well as multinational partners and actors.

Establishment of the Command results from the Bundeswehr’s consistent orientation towards national and collective defence. The focus is on credible deterrence and effective defence through a unified operational level of command. The German Joint Forces Command is designed to be able to take action and exercise command and control in all scenarios and at all levels of escalation – in hybrid threat situations, in national and collective defence, and in international crisis management.

At the same time, the strategic, operational and tactical levels are systematically separated from each other, and the German Joint Forces Command generally does not have to handle administrative control tasks.

Lieutenant General Alexander Sollfrank Bundeswehr/Riek

“Establishing the German Joint Forces Command is the logical consequence of our core mission of national and collective defence.”

Establishment of the new Command draws on the Bundeswehr Homeland Defence Command, which has previously been responsible for all the Bundeswehr’s tasks at home and for national territorial defence, and the Bundeswehr Joint Forces Operations Command, which currently still exercises command and control over the Bundeswehr’s operations abroad in international conflict and crisis management. It is directly subordinate to the Chief of Defence. The Command achieved initial capability on 1 October 2024, and aims to achieve full capability by 1 April 2025.

By 13 December 2024, the tasks of the Bundeswehr Homeland Defence Command in terms of national and collective defence and administrative assistance in accordance with Article 35 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany were fully integrated into the new Command. These tasks especially include command and control of reception, staging, onward movement and integration (RSOIreception, staging, onward movement and integration) and host nation support – supporting Germany’s own and allied forces during initial and further deployment – and the seamless organisation of Germany’s role as a central hub, further development of the Operational Plan for Germany and administrative assistance and disaster relief within the constitutional framework. The elements of NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization defence planning related to Germany, which previously were part of the responsibilities of the Bundeswehr Joint Forces Operations Command, were also integrated into the new Command. The Bundeswehr Homeland Defence Command and the Bundeswehr Joint Forces Operations Command will perform the remaining tasks on their own authority until responsibility is transferred to the new Command.

The German Joint Forces Command is a single command bringing together tasks in the areas of national and collective defence, international crisis management and the Bundeswehr’s assistance, in accordance with Article 35 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (administrative assistance), at the operational level. It

• Prioritises tasks, forces and capabilities for the entire Bundeswehr, ensuring that the Bundeswehr can accomplish its missions both in a national and multinational context
• Exercises command and control – below the Federal Ministry of Defence – over the mission-specific commands to be formed for the individual armed services: the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Cyber and Information Domain Service
• Acts as the command responsible for initial deployment to coordinate transport and supply processes for German troops on deployments to exercises and to fulfil Germany’s commitments as a member of NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization and the EU
• Ensures Germany’s function as a hub for NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization’s collective defence and, in this context, specifically coordinates support for Allied forces staying in or moving through Germany (host nation support)
• Coordinates all multinational joint/combined exercises at the national level (exercise coordination command)
• Conducts multi-domain operations against enemy attacks, which extend not only to the traditional military domains of land, the maritime environment and air, but also to cyber and information space, outer space and the civil sector
• Plans deployment of the Bundeswehr Special Operations Forces and exercises command and control over them through the Director of the Bundeswehr Special Operations Forces and the special operations forces headquarters subordinate to the Director
• Coordinates all national and international measures and activities regarding the standing operational task of national risk and crisis management, and exercises command and control over the forces employed
• Coordinates and exercises command and control over administrative assistance and disaster relief within the constitutional framework
• Prepares a joint situation picture for the Federal Ministry of Defence
• Analyses and assesses third-party military conflicts and security strategies
• Develops Germany’s contributions to NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization defence planning and deterrence as well as contributions to plans by the European Union, the United Nations and allied countries

In future, the regional territorial commands, which act as liaison elements to the federal states, will make the German Joint Forces Command compatible with actors throughout Germany.

The Counter-IEDImprovised Explosive Device Centre will also be subordinate to the German Joint Forces Command in future. It specialises in analysing and countering improvised explosive and incendiary devices and unmanned systems throughout the Bundeswehr’s entire spectrum of operations.

The Commander of the German Joint Forces Command – who is also the National Territorial Commander – bears responsibility at the operational level for the Bundeswehr’s national planning and conduct of missions and operations. This includes national and collective defence, national crisis and risk management, Germany’s contributions to international crisis management, command and control over the functional dimension of the Bundeswehr Special Operations Forces, and assistance in accordance with Article 35(2-3) of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (disaster relief).

The Commander of the German Joint Forces Command is directly subordinate to the Chief of Defence. In operations planning and at the operational level of command, the Commander is the superior of the chiefs of the individual armed services, the commanders in the Bundeswehr Joint Support Service Headquarters and the commanders of the capability coordination commands. In this capacity, the Commander of the German Joint Forces Command prioritises tasks for employment of forces and makes decisions regarding the commitment of forces and allocation of support capabilities.

The German Joint Forces Command evolved from the Bundeswehr Homeland Defence Command and the German Joint Forces Command. It is stationed at two locations, Julius Leber Barracks in Berlin and Henning von Tresckow Barracks in Schwielowsee near Potsdam, and includes around 1,400 military and civilian posts.