display
Berlin / Calw (dpa / lsw) - Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) has initiated disciplinary preliminary investigations against the commander of the KSK, Brigadier General Markus Kreitmayr, in connection with the ammunition affair in the Special Forces Command (KSK) of the Bundeswehr based in Calw.
The CDU politician commissioned the military disciplinary attorney of the medical service, which then examines a procedure before a troop service court.
During the disciplinary preliminary investigations, Kreitmayr will remain in his commanding post, the German press agency learned on Sunday from the Ministry of Defense in Berlin.
After numerous scandals, Kreitmayr leads a reform process in the elite unit of the German Army.
However, he is charged with the fact that soldiers were able to return hoarded or stolen ammunition in the past year without further registration - a rule violation.
The declared aim was to bring ammunition fully under control.
"Like every soldier, Brigadier General Kreitmayr deserves a fair and transparent procedure that also takes into account his motives and backgrounds," said Kramp-Karrenbauer.
"It is clear to me that the culture of systematically disregarding rules when dealing with ammunition before General Kreitmayr takes over command, also raises questions for the KSK command level at least in 2017 and 2018, as well as the responsible supervisory authority."
display
Kramp-Karrenbauer and General Inspector Eberhard Zorn, Germany's highest-ranking soldier, will visit the KSK in Calw on Monday in order to speak to the soldiers personally before the publication of a second interim report on the reforms in the KSK.
The publication of the report on the implementation of the measures against right-wing extremist tendencies at the KSK is scheduled for Tuesday.
“The Special Forces Command is a highly specialized unit that has proven itself in heavy-duty operations.
However, the KSK must continue to prove in the coming weeks and months that it is capable of a fundamental change in its internal culture, ”said Defense Minister Kramp-Karrenbauer, commenting on the status of the reforms.
"There is neither a free ticket nor a pre-judgment from me for the KSK."
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210321-99-910799 / 2