Kay-Achim Schönbach

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Kay-Achim Schönbach
(2021) as Vice Admiral and Inspector of the Navy

Kay-Achim Heino Schönbach (born July 9, 1965 in Kassel ) is a retired Vice Admiral . D. of the German Navy of the Bundeswehr . He served as Inspector of the Navy from March 24, 2021 until his discharge on January 22, 2022 .

military career

Training and first uses

Schönbach attended the Franz-Miltenberger-Gymnasium in Bad Brückenau . He then joined the Bundeswehr in 1984 and completed his training as a naval officer with Crew VII/84 . From 1985 to 1988 he studied education at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg . From 1988 to 1990 he completed officer courses and was then deployed from 1990 to 1992 as an artillery officer and location officer on the destroyer Hamburg . From 1992 to 1994 he was an exchange officer with the Royal Dutch Navy as a watch and navigation officer on the frigate Jan van Brakel and completed the operations course at the Nederlands-Belgische Operationsele School in Den Helder (Netherlands) from 1994 to 1995 . From 1995 to 1999 he served in various operational posts on the frigate Brandenburg . From 1999 to 2001 he took part in the Admiralty Course at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff Academy in Hamburg .

Service as a staff officer

From 2001 to 2004 Schönbach was employed as a consultant in the Federal Ministry of Defence . From 2004 to 2006 he was employed as first officer on the frigate Schleswig-Holstein . From 2006 to 2008 he was adjutant to the General Inspector of the German Armed Forces , General Wolfgang Schneiderhan . In 2008 he assumed command of the frigate Mecklenburg-Vorpommern , which he held until 2010. During this time he was also deployed with his ship in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Atalanta off the Horn of Africa. From 2010 to 2012 he taught as a lecturer at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff Academy in Hamburg. From 2012 to 2014 Schönbach was commander of the 4th Frigate Squadron in Wilhelmshaven . From 2014 to 2016, Schönbach was Head of Division for the Europe/Eurasia and Arctic region in the “Military Policy and Operations” department at the Federal Ministry of Defence.

service as an admiral

On June 19, 2016, Schönbach took over command of the Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) from Flotilla Admiral Jörg Klein in the port of Souda (Greece) , while being appointed Flotilla Admiral . The frigate Karlsruhe served as flagship from June to August , followed by the Dutch frigate De Ruyter . On December 22, 2016, he handed over command to Axel Deertz in Piraeus and took over from Carsten Stawitzki as commander of the Mürwik Naval Academy on January 31, 2017 . He handed over this post to Captain Wilhelm Tobias Abry on May 18, 2018 and was Deputy Head of the Strategy and Operations Department at the Federal Ministry of Defense in Berlin until he was appointed Inspector of the Navy, succeeding Major General Ingo Gerhartz .

Schönbach took over the post of Inspector of the Navy from Vice Admiral Andreas Krause on March 24, 2021.

Statements on the Ukraine crisis and resignation

On January 22, 2022, Schönbach asked to be placed on temporary retirement ; Defense Minister Lambrecht complied with this request immediately. Earlier, comments by Schönbach on January 21, 2022 at a public meeting broadcast live on YouTube at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyzes (MP-IDSA) think tank in New Delhi caused criticism. They were circulated on Twitter. Schönbach had expressed understanding for Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Ukraine crisis in 2022 :

"Is Russia really interested in having a small swath of Ukrainian soil that he has incorporated into their country? No, that's nonsense. I think Putin is probably putting pressure on it because he can do it. And he knows that he is dividing the European Union. But what he really wants is respect. He wants to be treated as equals, he wants respect. And - my God - showing respect to someone costs little, costs nothing. Well, if you were to ask me, it's easy to even give him the respect he really demands - and probably deserves."

He is a devout Catholic and Russia is a Christian country. He sees the greater threat in China. "Even we, India, Germany, need Russia because we need Russia against China." Regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, he said: "The Crimean Peninsula is gone, it will not come back, that's a fact." His statement contradicted that the position of German federal governments and other governments since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea .

reactions

Schönbach was backed by Harald Kujat (former Inspector General of the German Armed Forces ), who stated that Schönbach's statements were not about a misdemeanor. Kujat showed understanding for the criticism of Schönbach's statement, but at the same time said that it was important to de-escalate and to work towards a compromise with Russia, "while also taking into account Ukraine's security interests".

The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk , stated that Schönbach's statements "sent a deep shock" to the Ukrainian public. He spoke of a condescending attitude that "unconsciously also reminds Ukrainians of the horrors of the Nazi occupation , when Ukrainians were treated as subhuman ."

foreign assignments

private

Schönbach is married and has three sons. His father, Achim Schönbach, was a colonel in the Bundeswehr ( artillery troop ). He is Roman Catholic.

web links

Commons : Kay-Achim Schönbach  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

itemizations

  1. ↑ MV Longchamp off Somalia: Navy defends anti-piracy operation . In: sueddeutsche.de . ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed 20 June 2016]).
  2. ↑ Press and Information Center Navy: New Commander in the 4th Frigate Squadron. In: www.marine.de. September 28, 2012, retrieved June 20, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Gerd Abeldt: Geschwader still in transition. In: www.wzonline.de. 24 August 2014, retrieved 20 June 2016 .
  4. ↑ I'M ON DEPLOYMENT: The Commander. In: www.satz.bundeswehr.de. Retrieved October 4, 2016 .
  5. ↑ PIZ EinsFüKdoBw editors: Change of leadership in the Aegean. In: www.satz.bundeswehr.de. 19 June 2016, retrieved 20 June 2016 .
  6. ↑ Arrived in Flensburg. Press and Information Center Navy, January 31, 2017, retrieved February 2, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Stefan Beuke: Naval school becomes a career springboard. In: Flensburg daily newspaper. https://www.shz.de/ , May 19, 2018, accessed May 23, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Change of boss after six years - Navy under new leadership' , presseportal.de, March 24, 2021
  9. ↑ Personnel changes in military and civilian top positions - April 2021. In: bundeswehr.de. 13 April 2021, retrieved 14 April 2021 .
  10. ↑ Vice Admiral Schönbach resigns as Inspector of the Navy. In: presseportal.de. 22 January 2022, retrieved 22 January 2022 .
  11. ↑ Talk by Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schonbach, Chief of the German Navy. Retrieved January 23, 2022 .
  12. ↑ Patrick Freiwah: Because of statements about Putin: German Navy chief collects reprimands from the federal government. Merkur Online from January 22, 2022.
  13. ↑ China pays for murderers, Ukraine cannot join NATO, Putin deserves respect: Navy admiral talks himself into secret video. In: businessinsider.de. 22 January 2022, retrieved 22 January 2022 .
  14. ↑ German Navy chief must go. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. January 22, 2022, accessed January 23, 2022.
  15. ↑ Kay-Achim Schönbach: Chief of the German Navy makes his office available. In: Time Online. January 22, 2022, retrieved January 23, 2022 .
  16. ↑ Peter Carstens: Understanding for Putin expressed: As Vice-Admiral lost the bearing. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine . 23.January 2022, retrieved 23 January 2022 ( comment ).
  17. ↑ tagesschau.de: After the Ukraine scandal: Kujat criticizes dealings with Schönbach. Retrieved January 23, 2022 .
  18. ↑ "German Arrogance and Megalomania". In: The Mirror. 23 January 2022, retrieved 23 January 2022 .
  19. ↑ Mark Heun: Deceased Members. (No longer available online.) In: www.tradi-ar10.de. Archived from the original on June 23, 2016 ; retrieved June 23, 2016 .
personal data
SURNAME Schönbach, Kay-Achim
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schönbach, Kay-Achim Heino (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German vice admiral
BIRTH DATE July 9, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH kassel