Current Operations Of the French And German Armies

Army, Sep 2003 by Herrly, Peter

Complex Coalitions for Complex Challenges:

That America undertook Operation Iraqi Freedom against the advice and without the participation of some of its oldest allies, including France and Germany, aroused considerable controversy and ill will during the run-up to and conduct of the war.

America's ties to France and Germany were severely strained by the political divergence over the war in Iraq, to the extent that many voices on the American political scene began questioning the utility of long-standing alliances like NATO. It is nevertheless remarkable that even when tempers were most heated, U.S., French and German soldiers continued to serve together in other coalitions as well as formal alliance efforts.

In fact, if we think of the continuing global war on terror as composed of various "fronts" where substantial active military forces are operating, it is remarkable that despite their absence in Iraq, French and Germany forces are present and operating with U.S. forces in multiple theaters. For the French Army, these include Afghanistan, East Africa, West Africa and the Balkans. German forces have broken with a long-standing reluctance to deploy outside of Germany and have been or are present in such areas as Somalia, the Balkans and Afghanistan.

These operations illustrate the complexity of the modern world. It is true that when an American asks-"Are you with me or against me?"-a Frenchman is prone to answer, "On what issue?"

That complexity has been hard for many Americans to swallow as the country and Army geared up for a tough and difficult struggle in Iraq.

The dispute among allies over the Iraq conflict masked an often overlooked reality: The United States, despite its military might, will have a tough time taming an unruly world without its admittedly less muscular but still most militarily capable allies.

From the Balkans to Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf, the U.S. military maintains strong forces (at a considerable strain in operational tempo and soldier and family cohesion). Even so, tackling alone the laborious tasks associated with building enduring peace in difficult theaters does not present the optimum solution for the U.S. Armed Forces.

The complex realities of global operations are portrayed here, showing the French and German Armies in recent action in various hot spots around the world-Afghanistan, the Balkans, the Ivory Coast and elsewhere. Often these forces are involved in training and operating directly with the U.S. Army or in similar missions. Like the U.S. Army, the French and German Armies have lost soldiers in the fight against the forces of global terrorism and instability.

The French Army

There are only a few armies in the world today that retain robust full spectrum capabilities. Beyond the U.S. and British Armies, the French Army is one of the few land forces that not only maintains a substantial worldwide presence and a capability to fight at high intensity, but also is increasingly optimized for power projection.

The French Army has recently completed the ambitious restructuring program it launched in 1995, despite the handicaps of budget constraints imposed by five years of a center-left government from 1997 to 2002. These funding constraints hit especially hard at equipment maintenance and modernization accounts, in part because the Army was so heavily engaged in a series of deployments and overseas commitments. Nevertheless, despite the strains of this vigorous operational tempo, the French Army has completed the transition to an entirely new force structure, converting from a division to a brigade-centered force, and making the transition to an all-volunteer force.

During the same period, adding to its long-standing presence in Africa and the Pacific, the French Army began in 1992 a substantial long-term and continuing effort in the Balkans, where nearly 100 French soldiers have perished in the intervening decade.

In addition, after September 11, 2001, the French Army was asked to mount a major effort in Afghanistan. There, French soldiers operate in close conjunction with their American counterparts, notably in training the Afghan Army, participating in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and recently deploying special operations forces in a combat role.

To this has been added deployments to the Ivory Coast, where after helping evacuate American citizens, the French force has been engaged in a risky but so far successful effort to keep the lid on an explosive situation. Despite having fewer soldiers than the situation would seem to demand, French soldiers have employed their sense of the terrain and the overall environment to prevent the emergence of still another failed state, of still another spawning ground for instability and a potential safe haven for terrorists.

Recently, the French Army has also sent units to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for similar purposes.

At the same time, the French Army continues to develop its "Air-Land Operational Space" concept, a parallel to the U.S. Army's Future Combat System. This program's scope and bold vision, like the British Army's FRES (Future Rapid Effects System) effort, show that high technology in the landpower arena is not a one-way street from the United States to Europe.