Badge of honor of the Bundeswehr
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:
- Medal of Honor of the Bundeswehr (for faithful fulfillment of duties and above-average performance , minimum service period 7 months)
- Cross of Honor of the German Armed Forces in bronze (for faithful fulfillment of duties and above-average performance , minimum service period 5 years)
- Cross of Honor of the German Armed Forces in silver (for loyal fulfillment of duties and above-average performance , minimum tenure of service)
- 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)
- Gold Cross of Honor of the German Armed Forces (for loyal fulfillment of duties and above-average performance , minimum period of service 20 years)
- 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)
- 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.
Ribbon buckle of the Cross of Honor in gold
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
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 |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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 |
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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 . |
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October 10, 2018 | Matthias Reitz | 35 | Major d.R. | Franco-German Brigade | - | For excellence: For three (unrelated) lifesavers. |
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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. |
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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 |
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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. |
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October 8, 2010 | Niklas Holthaus | 21st | Corporal | Medical Command | - | For an outstanding individual act : Rescuing 16 people from a burning house in Koblenz. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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 |
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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
Web links
- Badges of honor and operational medals of the Bundeswehr , status 05/2017; 3.6 Mbytes; 91 pages. Publisher: Federal Ministry of Defense .
Individual evidence
- ^ Sixth decree on the approval of the foundation and the award of medals and decorations
- ↑ www.direktzurkanzlerin.de: Answer to "Introduction of a bravery award for Bundeswehr soldiers."
- ↑ a b PDF file The Badges of Honor of the Bundeswehr , available at Bundeswehr.de
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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]
- ↑ 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
- ↑ High Bundeswehr Order for a young Maukendorfer woman. In: https://www.lr-online.de/ . Lausitzer Rundschau, June 14, 2010, accessed on June 28, 2020 .
- ↑ Press release Press and Information Center Marine [2]
- ↑ http://www.wochenblatt.de/nachrichten/traunstein/regionales/Rettung-unter-feindLICH-Beschuss;art39,19174
- ↑ Three soldiers awarded for brave action in Afghanistan For bravery in battle. In: onetz.de , October 26, 2010.
- ↑ army -Presseerklärung [3]
- ↑ Arne Peters: A soldier becomes a lifesaver. In: Eckernförder Zeitung. August 1, 2015, accessed November 24, 2018 .
- ↑ 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 .
- ↑ 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 .
- ↑ Obergefreiter demonstrates civil courage - Silver Cross of Honor for Martin Schaflechner Böhme-Zeitung, April 7, 2010.
- ↑ [4]
- ↑ 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 .
- ↑ Flash News of the Day ( Memento from September 10, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Leichtathletik.de, September 9, 2014, accessed on September 9, 2014.
- ↑ A quiet hero: four-year-old saved from drowning Aachener Zeitung, August 1, 2014.
- ↑ [5]
- ^ Accident on the federal highway - soldier saves lives. In: https://www.bundeswehr.de/ . PIZ Luftwaffe, May 13, 2020, accessed May 14, 2020 .