Badge of honor of the Bundeswehr

Cross of Honor of the Bundeswehr in gold

The Bundeswehr Badge of Honor was donated by the Federal Minister of Defense Hans Apel in 1980 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Bundeswehr and was approved by the Federal President Karl Carstens on October 29, 1980 in the sixth decree approving the foundation and awarding of medals and decorations . The award was first presented on November 6, 1980.

On August 13, 2008, Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung donated the new Cross of Honor for bravery and special forms of the honor keuze in gold and silver for outstanding individual deeds. They were approved by Federal President Horst Köhler on September 18, 2008. The reason for this was the increasing number of Bundeswehr deployments abroad , which "place high demands and pose a risk to life and limb". The first crosses of honor for bravery were presented on July 6, 2009 by Chancellor Angela Merkel .

Award

The award is made by the Federal Minister of Defense “as visible recognition for loyal service and in appreciation of exemplary performance of military duties” and is usually handed out by disciplinary superiors at battalion commander level .

In the case of special achievements - for example after saving a life - the badge of honor can also be awarded before the minimum period of service is reached. The award of a lower level is not a requirement for the award of a higher level, so that the levels of the honorary badge can also be worn next to each other.

In exceptional cases, civilians and soldiers from foreign armed forces may also be honored with this award if they have “rendered outstanding services to the Bundeswehr”.

The new special level for bravery, like the two special versions of the levels silver and gold created at the same time, can be awarded without attaining a minimum period of service.

Steps and way of carrying

The Bundeswehr Badge of Honor is awarded in five stages. Including the two special versions, there are a total of seven versions:

1. Medal of Honor of the Bundeswehr (for faithful fulfillment of duties and above-average performance , minimum service period 7 months)
2. Cross of Honor of the German Armed Forces in bronze (for faithful fulfillment of duties and above-average performance , minimum service period 5 years)
3. 1. Cross of Honor of the German Armed Forces in silver (for loyal fulfillment of duties and above-average performance , minimum tenure of service)
   2. Cross of Honor of the Bundeswehr in silver in a special design (for particularly outstanding achievements, in particular for outstanding individual acts of military duty, without danger to life and limb , without a minimum period of service)
4. 1. Gold Cross of Honor of the German Armed Forces (for loyal fulfillment of duties and above-average performance , minimum period of service 20 years)
   2. Cross of Honor of the German Armed Forces in gold in a special design (for particularly outstanding achievements, in particular for outstanding individual acts of military duty, at risk to life and limb , without a minimum service period)
5. Cross of Honor of the Bundeswehr for bravery (for extraordinarily brave deeds , no minimum period of service)

The medal of honor and the cross of honor are awarded on a black, red and gold ribbon together with a certificate.

On the day it is handed out, the honorary badge is worn in its original size on field suit, service suit and formal suit. Otherwise, since it is awarded with a ribbon, it is only worn on the service suit with the ribbon buckle . On special business occasions, state receptions / state acts or for private reasons at special social events, it can be worn in its original size on the business suit and (in miniature size) on the social suit.

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  Ribbon buckle of the Cross of Honor in gold

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  Ribbon buckle of the cross of honor for bravery

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  Medal of Honor of the Bundeswehr (from left to right: front with ribbon buckle; back)

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  Cross of honor for bravery

Awards of special levels

From the first award in 2009 to May 2017, the Cross of Honor for Bravery was awarded 28 times. The special crosses of honor were awarded 124 times in gold and 249 times in silver until 2013. In May 2017, the Federal Ministry of Defense reported 146 awards of the gold level in a special form and 371 awards of the silver level in a special form.

The honored are:

Cross of Honor of the Bundeswehr for bravery

See also : List of bearers of the Bundeswehr Cross of Honor for bravery

Gold Cross of Honor of the Bundeswehr in a special design

Award date	Surname	Age at award	Rank at award	Part of the troops at the award	commitment	Reason for award	source
April 2, 2010	Robert Mcdonough		Captain	5th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, Katterbach Garrison , United States Armed Forces	ISAF	For outstanding achievements : In the course of the Good Friday battle on April 2, 2010, a German infantry platoon was ambushed by an outnumbered group of insurgents near Isa Khel in northern Afghanistan. During the battle, fire and the explosion of a booby trap resulted in numerous casualties (three dead, eight wounded). The crews of two combat rescue helicopters of the US Army came to the aid of the German paratroopers and flew the wounded, despite enemy fire, accepting great danger. Gold crosses of honor from the German Armed Forces in a special design during the handover ceremony on May 11, 2010 to 14 members of the US Army
	Steven Husted		Chief Warrant Officer 3
	Jason Lacrosse		Chief Warrant Officer 3
	Nelson Visaya		Chief Warrant Officer 3
	Jason Brown		Chief Warrant Officer 2
	Sean Johnson		Chief Warrant Officer 2
	Eric Wells		Chief Warrant Officer 2
	Travis Brown		Staff sergeant
	William Ebel		sergeant
	Antonio Gattis		sergeant
	Steven Shumaker		sergeant
	Matthew Baker		Specialist
	Todd Marchese		Specialist
	Gregory Martinez		Specialist
April 2, 2010	Pierre Schweger		lieutenant	Paratrooper Battalion 373 , Bundeswehr	ISAF	For outstanding achievements: Schweger saved the lives of two comrades during a fire attack by insurgents that put his own life at risk.
April 2, 2010	Nils Bruns †		Sergeant Major	Paratrooper Battalion 373, Bundeswehr	ISAF	For outstanding achievements : On Good Friday, April 2, 2010, a German infantry platoon was ambushed by a numerically superior group of insurgents near Isa Khel in northern Afghanistan. During the battle, fire and the explosion of a booby trap resulted in numerous casualties (three dead, eight wounded). Bruns was killed when he tried to lead a failure in favor of distressed comrades.
June 14, 2010	Marie Apitz	24	sergeant	Rapid emergency forces command, medical service , armed forces	ISAF	For outstanding achievements : In August 2009, north of Kunduz, as a paramedic of a rescue team, she and another soldier rescued a wounded comrade during a battle at the risk of her life and then provided medical care.
September 21, 2010	Roman wins	19th	Corporal	Battalion of naval protection forces , Bundeswehr	-	For great moral courage : Wins was out of service when he witnessed a knife fight in Kiel . He came to the aid of the bus driver who was injured in the robbery, followed and caught the attacker, whom he held until the police arrived.
October 2010	Jakob Klötzner		Captain	Gebirgsjägerbrigade 23 , Bundeswehr	ISAF	For the rescue of comrades in a confusing attack situation.
October 26, 2010	Marcel Losch		Corporal Corporal	Panzergrenadierbataillon 122, Bundeswehr	ISAF	For outstanding achievements: Deployed as a sniper squad leader, Losch was ambushed by insurgents during the heavy fighting on April 2, 2010 near Isa Khel (district of chahar Darreh, province of Kunduz) , proven as one of the main carriers of the battle.
November 18, 2010	Ulrike Hödel		Chief Medical Officer	Medical center Alt Duvenstedt, Bundeswehr	ISAF	For outstanding achievements : On Good Friday, April 2, 2010, a German infantry platoon was ambushed by a numerically superior group of insurgents near Isa Khel in northern Afghanistan. During the battle, fire and the explosion of a booby trap resulted in numerous casualties (three dead, eight wounded). Oberstabsarzt Hödel and Hauptfeldwebel Have, as BAT doctor and paramedic, dismounted several times under intense targeted fire and treated and stabilized injured comrades in the combat zone. Only then was it possible to fly the wounded soldiers with Blackhawk MEDEVAC helicopters in a stable manner for further treatment.
	Gerhard Have		Sergeant Major
	Thorsten Junker		Staff Sergeant			For outstanding achievements : On April 15, 2010, deployed as a paramedic rescue team OMLT to explore the Cuk-Cenar-Bridge (Dutch Bridge) in the Baghlan-i-Jadid area. After an IED attack on the EAGLE IV of the OMLT 2, he immediately dismounted and rescued the fallen comrades under indirect enemy fire and took care of the wounded comrades for more than 35 minutes through technically experienced qualified immediate measures until a BAT from Feyzabad arrived
October 1, 2015	Raphael P.	31	Captain	Sea battalion	EUNAVFOR - MED	For excellence: Rescued a person from immediate drowning while on duty and performed a successful resuscitation .
October 10, 2018	Matthias Reitz	35	Major d.R.	Franco-German Brigade	-	For excellence: For three (unrelated) lifesavers.
20th June 2019	Matthias Labude		First lieutenant at sea	Frigate Saxony	-	For an outstanding individual act : for the salvage of an 80 kilogram missile warhead of a missile type Standard Missile SM-2 after a shooting accident on board the frigate Sachsen on June 21, 2018.
	Henning Röder		Staff Captain
	Daniel Lackner		Chief Boatswain
	Tim White		Chief Boatswain

Cross of Honor of the Bundeswehr in silver in a special design

Award date	Surname	Age at award	Rank at award	Part of the troops at the award	commitment	Reason for award	source
April 6, 2010	Martin Schaflechner	19th	Corporal	Training center Munster	-	For moral courage : Schaflechner was out of service when he witnessed a brawl. He separated the adversaries and held the perpetrators until the police arrived.
October 8, 2010	Niklas Holthaus	21st	Corporal	Medical Command	-	For an outstanding individual act : Rescuing 16 people from a burning house in Koblenz.
	Pit melter	25th	Corporal
October 12, 2012	Alexander Bode	23	lieutenant	Helmut Schmidt University / University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg	-	For moral courage : Bode was out of service when he witnessed a brawl. He stood between several attackers and their victims, whereupon the attackers fled.
September 9, 2014	Sabrina Mockenhaupt	33	Sergeant Major	Sports promotion group of the Bundeswehr	-	For an outstanding individual deed : special commitment at the integrative European military championship 2013 in Warendorf.
22nd September 2014	Benjamin Preller	32	Sergeant Major	DDO / DtA AOCC HQ NRDC TUR	-	For outstanding individual deed : four-year-old child saved from drowning by resuscitation.
March 30, 2017	Jan-Hendrick Möck		Chief Boatswain	Sea battalion	-	For an outstanding individual act : Rescuing a critically injured eight-year-old boy in a traffic accident.
22nd August 2017	Oliver Grandt		Lieutenant captain	Sea battalion	-	For outstanding individual deed : For the care of several seriously injured persons in a serious traffic accident.
	Henry Krenz		Captain
May 20, 2020	Nico Laduch	29	Corporal	Tactical Air Force Squadron 51		For outstanding individual deed : On November 29, 2019, a perpetrator in Leipzig threatened several people's life and limb. With his courageous, quick and careful action, the soldier prevented the perpetrator from putting other people in danger. In doing so, he averted a considerable danger to the general public while deferring his own safety
May 13, 2020	Christoph Kriegler	23	Corporal Corporal	Tactical Air Force Squadron 74		For outstanding individual deed : For the care of several seriously injured persons in a serious traffic accident.

See also

• Law on titles, medals and decorations
• List of German orders and decorations

Web links

Commons : Badge of Honor of the Bundeswehr  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Badges of honor and operational medals of the Bundeswehr , status 05/2017; 3.6 Mbytes; 91 pages. Publisher: Federal Ministry of Defense .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Sixth decree on the approval of the foundation and the award of medals and decorations
2. ↑ www.direktzurkanzlerin.de: Answer to "Introduction of a bravery award for Bundeswehr soldiers."
3. ↑ ^{a b} PDF file The Badges of Honor of the Bundeswehr , available at Bundeswehr.de
4. ↑ For example, in September 2006 the US soldier Staff Sgt. Jonathon Zapien of the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) received an award for rescuing a German soldier in Afghanistan.
5. ↑ Decree on the revision of the decree on the foundation of the Bundeswehr Decoration of Honor from August 13, 2008 ( Memento of March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) April 2011
6. ↑ Badges and medals of the Bundeswehr - 6th edition May 2017, publisher of the press and information staff of the Federal Ministry of Defense, accessed on November 4, 2018 [1]
7. ↑ Afghanistan: 14 Bundeswehr honor crosses in gold for US soldiers who risked their lives for German comrades ( Memento from June 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) soldiersglueck.de, May 13, 2010, accessed on April 13, 2013
8. ↑ High Bundeswehr Order for a young Maukendorfer woman. In: https://www.lr-online.de/ . Lausitzer Rundschau, June 14, 2010, accessed on June 28, 2020 . 
9. ↑ Press release Press and Information Center Marine [2]
10. ↑ http://www.wochenblatt.de/nachrichten/traunstein/regionales/Rettung-unter-feindLICH-Beschuss;art39,19174
11. ↑ Three soldiers awarded for brave action in Afghanistan For bravery in battle. In: onetz.de , October 26, 2010.
12. ↑ army -Presseerklärung [3]
13. ↑ Arne Peters: A soldier becomes a lifesaver. In: Eckernförder Zeitung. August 1, 2015, accessed November 24, 2018 . 
14. ↑ Cross of honor in gold with a red border for a lifesaver. In: https://www.presseportal.de . PIZ German Army, October 11, 2018, accessed November 24, 2018 . 
15. ↑ Cross of honor awarded after an accident on the "Sachsen". In: https://www.marine.de . PIZ Deutsche Marine, June 20, 2019, accessed on June 20, 2019 . 
16. ↑ Obergefreiter demonstrates civil courage - Silver Cross of Honor for Martin Schaflechner Böhme-Zeitung, April 7, 2010.
17. ↑ [4]
18. ↑ Civil courage: 23-year-old lieutenant receives "Cross of Honor of the Federal Armed Forces in Silver in a Special Design". In: https : //regionalwölkerbuettel.de . October 12, 2012, accessed November 24, 2018 . 
19. ↑ Flash News of the Day ( Memento from September 10, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Leichtathletik.de, September 9, 2014, accessed on September 9, 2014.
20. ↑ A quiet hero: four-year-old saved from drowning Aachener Zeitung, August 1, 2014.
21. ↑ [5]
22. ^ Accident on the federal highway - soldier saves lives. In: https://www.bundeswehr.de/ . PIZ Luftwaffe, May 13, 2020, accessed May 14, 2020 .