Army flags of the Bundeswehr

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The troops flags of the Bundeswehr has been prepared by German President Heinrich Luebke on 18 September 1964 by arrangement for battalions and related organizations "as an outward sign of joint duty in the service of people and the state" donated .

Appearance

The “Order on the Foundation of Troop Flags for the Federal Armed Forces” (BwFahnAnO) was published on September 18, 1964 ( Federal Law Gazette I, p. 817 ) (text evidence from October 20, 1964). Accordingly, they consist of a square 1 x 1 m large cloth with the colors black-red-gold and the federal shield . The edge is edged with gold-colored braids, and the cloth is attached to a wooden flagpole painted black. At the tip of the stick is an iron cross , set in a laurel wreath , as a historical symbol of military duty. Only the so-called flags ring mounted under the Iron Cross, the device name is engraved and makes together with the respective troops based banner ribbon the flag individually.

history

Handover of the troop flags to the army on April 24, 1965 in the Prussian stadium in Münster - here Lieutenant General Ulrich de Maizière, as inspector of the army, personally hands over the troop flags to 17 selected battalions.

After the defeat in World War II , the re-establishment of armed forces met with little approval from parts of the German population. In order not to create a target for opponents to attack by adopting old traditions, when the Bundeswehr was founded in 1955, troop flags were not introduced. However, this soon proved to be an untenable situation, as all other NATO countries carried troop flags and the Bundeswehr soon encountered problems in international military ceremonies (alternatively, units used old flags from before 1918 or carried simple black, red and gold flags on official occasions).

Federal President Heinrich Lübke awarded the guard battalion at the Federal Ministry of Defense (WachBtl BMVg) in Bonn with the first troop flag on January 7, 1965. On April 24, 1965, delegations of 319 battalions of the Army joined forces with the Air Force in Münster to get out of the Hand of their inspectors ( Inspector of the Army , Inspector of the Air Force ) to receive the troop flags. At the same time, the German Navy received its troop flags from the Navy inspector on the premises of the Navy NCO School in Plön .

German Flag Command ( Eurocorps ) at the parade on July 14, 2007 in Paris.

In the mid-1990s, regiments , higher command authorities and schools also received their troop flags.

The first troop flag of the Bundeswehr is now in the holdings of the guard battalion at the BMVg ( Bendlerblock ) in Berlin. As a symbol for the integration of the Bundeswehr into the state structure and its commitment to the free democratic basic order , the troop flag is an integral part of the Bundeswehr's own tradition in a democracy.

Use and meaning

The troop flags of the Bundeswehr are usually kept in the offices of the commanders of the respective units. If they are used in the context of a military ceremony , the flag is taken over by the so-called flag command , which consists of two officers and one sergeant with portepee . The non-commissioned officer as the actual standard bearer usually exercises this honorary office over a longer period of time, the officers, however, are newly appointed as the occasion arises. When used as a command flag officers carry lanyard as a sign of use in honor of protocol service that flags bearing Sergeant white gauntlets as a sign of special activities (see picture right) .

As the troop flag marches past, uniformed guests pay the military salute to the troop flag . The leader of the formation also greets. Everyone else in the formation (here the instructors and cadet officers of Crew VII / 06 who have been sworn in ) greet them by turning their gaze .

Troop flags play a major role in the Bundeswehr's self-image, especially at receptions with military honors , vows and swearing- in ceremonies . If troop flags are carried in the marching unit as part of such or corresponding events, soldiers in uniform have to pay them the military salute . At organized events, the spectators are often asked by programs or announcements to rise when the troop flag is raised. A troop flag entered in a form of honor is not lowered when walking along the front, in contrast to the old imperial army and armed forces .

The army flags of the Bundeswehr are only lowered on the following occasions:

When lowering the flag, the cloth should not touch the ground if possible. In other countries such as Great Britain or Austria, on the other hand, it is common to place the flagpole on the floor so that the cloth is completely on the floor.

Whereabouts

Separated troop flags can be set up or displayed at a suitable place in the troop section to maintain tradition after approval by the responsible higher command authority. Troop flags of disbanded units or decommissioned ships, whose tradition is still being maintained, generally remain within the Bundeswehr. With the approval of the competent higher command authority, they can either add additional equipment to the unit that takes on the tradition of the dissolved unit, the successor unit established by organizational order, the next common level of the unit to be dissolved and the successor unit, the military facilities of central importance (e.g. Bundeswehr schools) or the Bundeswehr museum facilities (e.g. the Bundeswehr Military History Museum ). A handover to military museums outside the Bundeswehr requires the approval of the BMVg , Section FüSK III 3. If a dignified display or storage of separated troop flags to maintain tradition is not guaranteed, the troop flags must be returned to the Bundeswehr Depot South . The regulations for troop flags apply accordingly to flag ribbons and rings.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Troop flag domestic protocol of the federal government article of February 12, 2011
  2. ^ Order on the foundation of the troop flags for the Bundeswehr
  3. ^ A b Online editorial office for the army: The troop flag. Bundeswehr, November 25, 2013, accessed on March 6, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Udo Hagemeister: Handover of the troop flag with flag ribbon. Armed Forces Base, September 22, 2014, accessed on March 6, 2016 (new troop flag of the NBC Defense and Legal Protection Tasks school).
  5. ↑ Troop flags for the Bundeswehr. (No longer available online.) In: treff.bundeswehr.de. Bundeswehr, archived from the original on 20160307060548 ; accessed on March 6, 2016 .
  6. ↑ Central guideline A2-2630 / 0-0-3 - "Military forms and celebrations of the Bundeswehr" . Numbers 816 ff .

Web links

Commons : Army flag of the Bundeswehr  - collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Troop flag and flag ribbon ; Feldkirchen, March 17, 2009 by Philip Allinger on sanitaetsdienst-bundeswehr.de from December 2, 2013