Page 117 - RSDG Year of 2021 CREST

EAGLE AND CARBINE 123
three months of planning training at Divisional and Brigade level, which exposes some of the fric- tions between the German and other NATO plan- ning systems. The German Führungsprozess is staff-driven rather than command-led, which caused some consternation amongst the internationals. The Führungsprozess follows the theory of war as an art rather than a science, builds around a single core plan, and has the commander mostly absent – the Chief of Staff leads the process. In theory, this process is quicker at the tactical level and frees the commander for other tasks. The second Teilstreitkräftephase will take begin in Jan 2023, using the NATO COPD at the Corps level.
The Heeresaufklärungsregiment (Army Reconnaissance Regiment) are our closest equivalents within the Bundeswehr, and have taken me somewhat under their wing. Their Freundeskreistreffen is a reasonable paral- lel to a mess event. The event brings together the offic- ers of their six battalions and three independent com- panies for a social evening on the Thursday, followed by a study day and a dinner on the Friday, encompass- ing everyone from officer cadets to their Regimental Colonel (Generalmajor von Butler, commander of 10 Panzerdivision).
The British participants occupy “Little Britain”: five SFA an easy half hour by S-Bahn into central Hamburg. There is a close-knit community of interna- tional LGAN-participants, a handful of Bundeswehr officers who live in Hamburg and of course the British participants and liaison officer, who form the base of a social network, and plenty to get involved with in Hamburg itself.
For me, it has been an enjoyable experience so far and one that I would recommend to our Captains looking to Beige in the near future – I will aim to provide an update next year on how the course progresses.