Operation Active Fence

Turkey (orange) and Syria (green)

Operation Active Fence is the title of NATO's operation to protect NATO member Turkey from attacks from neighboring Syria, which is in a civil war . Patriot anti-aircraft missiles ( MIM-104 Patriot Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept On Target), a ground-based medium-range anti-aircraft missile system for defense against aircraft , cruise missiles and tactical short-range ballistic missiles (as well as, to a limited extent, smaller medium-range missiles ) are intended to protect the Turkish border area with Syria. The mandate of the German Bundeswehr was initially limited to 400 men for one year until January 2014, but was extended twice. The last mandate expired on January 31, 2016.

Starting position

In the course of the civil war, artillery or mortar shells repeatedly hit the Turkish side of the border. This led to the military and political Syrian-Turkish conflict in 2012 . The Turkish-Syrian border is around 900 kilometers long (land border). In 2013, Turkey did not have its own missile defense. Politically, the Turkish leadership demanded the resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2012 . In autumn 2012 it was announced that Turkey would be providing NATO aid, such as B. Request Patriot anti-aircraft missiles.

From the political and military side, there were different assessments of the actual threat to Turkey from Syrian attacks. What is certain is that the system does not fend off artillery shells, so the shelling of the Turkish border area only provided the occasion, not the reason for the deployment. The reason for the stationing is the fear that a Syrian government, which is crowded into an ever smaller area and believes that Turkey is partly to blame for its fate, could order the use of chemical weapons against Turkey. While it is clear that Syria has sarin warheads and delivery systems, i.e. the technical means, and that the use against a large city could have devastating consequences depending on the wind conditions, the Syrian government has on the other hand declared that it will never use these weapons against civilians. The plausibility of the threat scenario depends almost entirely on an assessment by the people involved.

Only Germany, the Netherlands and the USA have the most modern model of the Patriot system.

NATO decision

Turkey officially asked NATO for assistance in November 2012. In December 2012, the foreign ministers of the 28 NATO countries decided in Brussels to deploy Patriot missiles. For three regions close to the border, NATO corresponded to Turkey, for the border regions Hatay and Şanlıurfa and for five other provinces close to the border, however, NATO refused to station the system. According to NATO diplomats, the NATO foreign ministers stressed in a statement that the anti-missile missiles should only serve to protect and defend Turkey's ally. They should therefore not be used to control a no-fly zone over Syria.

The then Russian President Putin described this mission as “wrong” before the decision and “provocations” should be avoided. He announced that Turkey and Russia wanted to work together on “new ideas” for resolving the conflict in Syria. Russia is Syria's most important ally on the international stage. In addition, the Russian President doubted at the time that Syria was really a threat to Turkey: "Syria is not in a position to attack anyone." After the decision, Russia's then Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was surprisingly mild. He said it was a matter for Turkey. Moscow has "no objections" to this. However, according to Lavrov, no one should believe that a military solution to the Syrian conflict is possible.

Holdings

German participation

Patriot system of the Bundeswehr; here a starting device of the 4th / 21st at the Hanse Sail in Hohe Düne

The federal cabinet approved the posting and asked the Bundestag for approval. On December 13, 2012, the German Bundestag approved the use of German Patriot anti-aircraft missiles in Turkey by a large majority. In a roll call vote, 461 MPs approved this Bundeswehr mandate, 86 rejected it. There were eight abstentions. The resolution included the authorization to deploy up to 400 soldiers in early 2013.

Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (FDP) emphasized that the operation was a purely defensive measure. The then Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière (CDU) said after the Bundestag resolution: "I would like to thank the Bundestag for the quick consultation and the broad approval for the mandate." In the application, the costs were estimated at 25 million euros; in the period from January to June 2013, they were around 7 million euros.

On August 15, 2015, it was announced that the mandate would expire on January 31, 2016 and not be extended. The operational mission ended on October 15, 2015. On the same day, preparations for the relocation began. The German mission was officially ended on November 17, 2015 by the Bundeswehr Operations Command (EinsFüKdoBw). At the so-called End of Mission Appeal , the deputy commander of the EinsFüKdoBw, Major General Thorsten Poschwatta , spoke of a readiness for action of over 99 percent of the German contingent over the three years.

The last contingent leader of the German AF TUR contingent was Colonel Josef Ipfelkofer.

The German contribution consisted of two seasons of Patriot . Each squadron included a radar device and three launch devices with a position-adapted mix of PAC-2 and PAC-3 guided missiles.

US investment

Before the Bundestag, the then US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta had approved the relocation of two Patriot units to Turkey. The US broadcaster CBS News reported that 400 US soldiers were to be relocated to operate the missile defense system.

On August 15, 2015, it was announced that the US Forces would withdraw and end the operation in October of that year when the mission ends. It was also assured that if the missile defense system were to be used again, armed forces could be deployed again within a week.

Dutch participation

The Netherlands is also participating in the deployment with two batteries . After the German Bundestag decision, the Dutch government decided to approve the use of Patriot anti-missile systems. With the batteries, more than 360 Dutch soldiers were to be stationed on the Turkish-Syrian border for a year. The exact location of the stationing should be determined in consultation with all participating countries.

Spanish participation

In January 2015, the Dutch contingent was replaced by a Spanish one .

Italian participation

From June 2016 to December 2019, Italy stationed a SAMP / T anti-aircraft battery from the 4th anti-aircraft regiment near Kahramanmaraş . A German Patriot air defense unit was located there until 2015.

Reactions in Turkey

The majority of the Turkish population sees the mission as positive. However, there were also demonstrations against German involvement in several cities in Turkey on January 20, 2013. On January 22, 2013, German soldiers were assaulted by Turkish civilians in the Turkish port city of İskenderun . The five members of the Bundeswehr were mobbed and harassed by around 40 people. A soldier was pulled over his head with a sack containing white powder. Turkish security forces intervened immediately and prevented further escalation. No German soldier was injured in the incident. The "Association of Turkish Young People" (TGB) supported this campaign.

Posting

On January 6, 2013, the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet reported that a US vanguard had already arrived at the Incirlik air base in Turkey. The first personnel and equipment landed on January 3, and several planes carrying members of the 3-2 Air Defense Artillery (ADA) followed suit. A total of 400 US soldiers are to be stationed in Incirlik. The Americans were stationed in Gaziantep , 50 kilometers north of the Syrian border. The operation is coordinated from the Stuttgart- based headquarters of the US armed forces in Europe .

The Danish RoRo ship Suecia Seaways picked up all the material for use in the Turkish city of Kahramanmaraş in the port of Travemünde on the morning of January 6th . The anti-aircraft missile squadrons 1 and 2 , the soldiers of the 6th Company of Logistics Battalion 161 and the logistics center of the Bundeswehr from Wilhelmshaven were responsible for organizing the relocation. The relocation of vehicles and containers was carried out with the support of the armed forces base . In addition, the special vehicles of the NBC defense force ( NBC-Spürpanzer Fuchs , TEP 90) and the medical service were delivered and loaded. 304 vehicles and over 100 containers including military police vehicles as well as equipment from the IT sector from Fürstenfeldbruck and special vehicles (crane vehicles, trucks) from the logistics battalion were embarked. The ship left Travemünde with 3,520 tons of material in the direction of Emden , where it took on more material. On January 21, the ship reached the Turkish port of İskenderun .

On January 20, 2013, 240 Bundeswehr soldiers were relocated from Berlin to Turkey as the main contingent . They were stationed in Kahramanmaraş in southern Turkey and operated the Patriot air defense systems there. Most of the soldiers came from anti-aircraft missile groups 21 ( Sanitz ) and 24 ( Bad Sülze ) in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and belonged to the "German Mission Module Operation Active Fence Turkey". Among them were paramedics and soldiers from the NBC defense force to protect against nuclear, biological and chemical attacks .

The Dutch are stationed in Adana / Incirlik, about 100 kilometers west of the Syrian border .

On January 21st, 250 soldiers flew from Eindhoven to Turkey.

commitment

On January 30, 2013, all Patriot systems were operational.

Military awards

Mission medal AF TUR (here: strap buckle )

The Bundeswehr awards the AF TUR medal to emergency services who took part in the operation .

reception

The range of the deployed Patriot missiles is shorter than the distance of their deployment locations to the Turkish-Syrian border , which translates the political restriction to a purely defensive role into geographical facts. In Germany, this enabled the Greens to agree to the stationing, and thus the desired large majority in the Bundestag.

Furthermore, it took several weeks to relocate and prepare for use. The relationship between the range and the stationing locations and the long relocation time rather than a purely military one suggest a political character of the mission. It is therefore argued that the deployment serves to demonstrate alliance solidarity with Turkey, to reassure the country and to further strategically connect Turkey to the West. In contrast, critics of the mission such as Jan van Aken see the deployment of the missiles as a further step towards a military escalation of the conflict.