Youth officer
As officers for security policy, youth officers are part of the information and public relations work of the Bundeswehr . They also deal with aspects of social , environmental and development policy within the framework of the extended security concept . The role of youth officer has existed in the Bundeswehr since 1958. There are currently 94 full-time youth officers nationwide with the rank of captain / lieutenant , each responsible for a regional support area. In principle, youth officers are active in political education in the broadest sense in agreement with the education ministries of the federal states, whereby aspects of personnel recruitment should not play a role.
In addition, there are youth officers and youth sergeants in secondary functions in the individual associations. Part-time youth officers and youth NCOs mainly organize visits to the troops and support the full-time youth officer on site.
Basics
"Responsible participation of the citizens in the formation of political will of the people presupposes that the individual knows enough about the factual issues to be decided, about the decisions, measures and proposed solutions made by the constituted state organs, in order to be able to judge, approve or reject them."
“It corresponds to the self-image of a democracy that its security is a matter for the whole people. The willingness of the citizens to defend their country creates the conditions for the rights and freedom of each individual to be protected. "
The Basic Law equally includes the peace requirement and defense readiness with armed forces on the basis of general conscription . Youth officers are responsible for public relations, they are supposed to convey the role of the Bundeswehr to the population. Statements on security policy - on the role of the Bundeswehr in the Atlantic alliance and on efforts to promote cooperation , relaxation and disarmament - are part of this work.
In addition, two other essential principles apply to the work of youth officers. On the one hand, the Beutelsbach consensus must be preserved. On the other hand, the youth officers also have to comply with the Munich Manifesto .
education
Youth officers usually have a university degree and several years of experience as military superiors , and in many cases they can also demonstrate experience abroad . The soldier's profession and the desired constant exchange with political decision-makers should allow them a differentiated view of the complex security situation. Furthermore, they are trained in the context of conferences and further training by various bodies. Youth officers are methodically and didactically trained to convey security policy content in a target group-oriented and youth-friendly manner. All youth officers are prepared for their work in a three-week basic course, full-time youth officers in addition in a three-week advanced course with a focus on security policy and communication technology.
Due to the increased involvement of the Federal Republic of Germany in foreign missions, the Bundeswehr is increasingly taking on officers of the military technical service (OffzMilFD), as they can pass on an expanded range of experience in the context of political training to the younger generation due to their age, operational or possibly combat experience.
Range of tasks
The youth officers are available as contact persons for the population of the Federal Republic of Germany and especially for youths and young adults. They are intended to clearly illustrate and explain the security policy of the Federal Republic of Germany to the interested public. In lectures, discussions and seminars, they provide information about the German contribution to international conflict prevention and management, the status quo, the prospects and difficulties of foreign missions by the Bundeswehr as well as about everyday life and further development of the armed forces. The use of youth officers is intended to stimulate dialogue on the basic questions of peace, freedom and security. It is not their job to provide information about career opportunities in the Bundeswehr.
Target groups
The focus of the youth officers is, in agreement with the education ministries of the federal states, on pupils and teachers. In addition, they also work with political youth organizations, parties, trade unions, churches and other social institutions and groups.
Events
School attendance
Youth officers visit schools in subjects related to politics or contemporary history (especially politics, social studies, history, religion or ethics). The mostly 90-minute events, which, in addition to conveying information, are primarily based on dialogue and discussion, are carried out by the youth officer in consultation with the responsible teacher.
Lesson topics can include:
- Mission and tasks of the Bundeswehr
- Foreign missions of the Bundeswehr
- Transformation of the Bundeswehr
- Peacekeeping within the Alliance framework ( NATO ) and on behalf of the UN , the European Union or the OSCE
- Germany's integration into systems of collective security
- European security and defense policy
- International terrorism as a threat to the 21st century
- Everyday life and service in the Bundeswehr
- Soldiers as citizens in uniform
- Relaxation through disarmament and arms control
POL & IS
Main article: POL & IS
Youth officers carry out the interactive simulation of politics and international security primarily with schoolchildren, but also with all other target groups. POL & IS is a simulation that aims to clarify the national and international relationships between politics, business, the environment and security for the participants. For the sake of simplicity, the world is modeled into 13 regions (e.g. North America, Europe, Arabia or Africa). Most of the participants take on political offices (e.g. head of government or economics minister) in the various regions during the simulation and try to implement their political, economic and ecological ideas. At the same time, other participants take on other functions in the world press, World Bank, UN Secretary General, NGOs in the form of Greenpeace or Amnesty International . The simulation is divided into time-limited phases and takes three to five days for 35 to 55 participants.
Seminars
The youth officers offer special security policy seminars for the further training of teachers, trainee lawyers and other multipliers. These can be seminar trips lasting several days to Berlin, Stettin, Brussels, Strasbourg, Vienna and, more recently, Geneva ( European headquarters of the UN ) and The Hague ( seat of the International Court of Justice ), during which the youth officers talk about German foreign and security policy, developments in the Informing about NATO , aspects of international law , the European security and defense policy or about the functioning of the UN. You organize discussions with high-ranking speakers from politics and business, who give the participants the opportunity to get their own picture of the international commitment of the Federal Republic of Germany. In many federal states, these events are recognized and sponsored by the state ministries of education as teacher training seminars. In addition, youth officers also hold a large number of security policy seminars and seminar days. These are often of shorter duration and mostly take place in educational and conference centers, but also in barracks.
Panel discussions
As specialist speakers, youth officers take part in panel discussions and take a position on the fundamentals and goals of German security and defense policy. They answer questions about the future of the Bundeswehr and developments in the European and global security architecture. A common topic in the past was the discussion about general conscription .
Visit to the troops
The youth officers offer interested groups visits to the barracks, which serve to gain an insight into the everyday life and working conditions of the soldiers. During these visits, the units present equipment and training on site and offer visitors the opportunity to enter into dialogue with the soldiers.
Acquisition / multiplier discussion
In discussions, the youth officers provide details on their overall offer and advise on security issues.
Others
In addition to the events listed above, depending on regional circumstances and in consultation with interested parties, youth officers also organize other events of all kinds. In addition, u. a. security evenings, project days, marine seminars and lectures at universities, technical colleges and adult education centers.
criticism
Various organizations such as B. the youth action committee emergency of the republic sometimes but also many students themselves, are critical of a cooperation between schools and the military. They see it as a violation of the Beutelsbach consensus , which is supposed to ensure that students are free to form opinions. For example, in May 2010 a planned event by youth officers in a Berlin school was canceled as a result of resistance from the student council.
literature
- Dieter Ose: The role of youth officers in the information system of the Bundeswehr . In the S. (Ed.): Security policy communication in transition (= writings of the Bundeswehr Academy for Information and Communication . Vol. 28). Nomos, Baden-Baden 2008, ISBN 978-3-8329-3296-1 , pp. 170-183.
Web links
- www.jugendoffizier.de - Information on youth officers on the Bundeswehr website
- www.jugendoffizier.eu - Link to the website of the Association of Youth Officers
- www.nrw.jugendoffizier.de - Appearance of the NRW youth officers on the website of the NRW Ministry of Education
- 50 years of youth officers - “traveler in matters of security policy” - full-time youth officer at the time of the “retrofitting debate” from 1978 to 1981 by Major General Rainer Glatz in: International Magazine for Security 04/08, pp. 44–47.
- A criticism of youth officers from Young Democrats / Young Left Berlin, formulated as part of a “campaign against arguments to kill”
- http://www.jugendkongress-notstand-der- Republik.org/
Individual evidence
- ↑ http ://www.jugendkongress-notstand-der- Republik.de/files/infobriefe/Infobrief_JAA_Nr4.pdf ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Martin Klesmann: school management invites from Bundeswehr. In: Berliner Zeitung . May 20, 2010, accessed June 16, 2015 .
