their army is pretty good-by any standards-they have other things on their mind right now as east germany was left a polluted mess by the russians and is costing germany a small fortune to clean it up---enjoy the night

Good personnel and training, very good equipment, but no political ability to use it (even for armed peacekeeping if I'm not mistaken), and virtually no projection capability to send it anywhere on their own. Which is a good thing - it's nice to have boring European history for a while.

There is a single and very important point:
Big countries and big nations which are super-powers just like the USA, Russia, Britain, France or China have very different and much more far longing interests over the whole world.
So these bigger and much more powerful countries have the finincial and monetary ressources to defend all their wide spread interests all over the world with their superior ressources of military and econmic power.
Germany has not any interests outside of Germany. So there will never be any need that we would have to defend any of our non existing interests far away outside of our country.
In Europe we have absence of war and not yet peace at all if I look over to Britain and to the political class in France. But both countries I think are not about to invade ín Germany and other countries in the world which would be hostile to Germany I do not see.
So I can not see any purpose why we would need an army at all.
Supporting the British who hate us, I think can not be expected and the French and British politics are extremely different to the German politics so that I can see not any common opinion between them an us.
With Russia Germany has won a first class new and reliable partner, so that I can not see who wants to do any harm to the Germans, except the colonial masters in Brussels.
With Italy, Spain, Greece or Benelux we live in complete peace and friendship, so that an army would be more than useless.
If Brits and Americans want to have their adventures in Afghanistan, Iraq or elsewhere it is just their decision we have not to comment. But it is obviously not a German problem at all.
What Brits and Americans see as common interest are mostly not the common interests of other countries.
The Anglo-American point of view must not be the same view for other countries.

Fortunately it is the smallest and most inferior army in europe.
72 % of the German population are voting for a complete abolition on the spot.
Germany should leave the NATO as soon as possible because it can not be the job of German citizens getting involved like mercennaires for Americans and British in their wars.
Also fortunately over 60 % of all young men are intelligent enough to refuse any kind of military service and prefer a useful and senseful time in some kind of social service.
So I am very glad that the re-education since WW II which was initiated by the Allies was successful.
I think in the next few years Germany will abolish its army completely because Germany does not not need an army and foreign conflicts elsewhere should not touch Germany at all.
If Americans, British and other nations love to do interventions elsewhere they can do it and as a German I wish to all of them many good trips but Germans should strictly keep off any conflict.
Military is nothing but a mere waste of money and useless energy.

It is strictly a maritime defense today. They cut back half the size of the army and practically mothballed the navy when they had to liquify the eastern part of the country back in. Ironic to say, they are not a third the size of France's military today.

After the next elections in a few weeks the compulsury service will probably abolished and I think the German Army will reduce again.
This will be a very good step to a complete abolition in the next few years.
A country in the center of Europe does no longer need an army at all and in regard of our special history which is told to us each day a few times we should not engage in foreign affairs outside of our own country.
There are enough other countries who can do much better.

I think in regard of the history and given the lessons by the allies after WW II Germnay should retire from any military engagement and abolish its army completely.
The German army never has been seen as an allied army but always as an army of former enemies and so the German soldiers were treated since ever up to now.
So it would have been much better ig Germany would never had formed again a new army after war.
Germany should keep off strictly from any foreign conflicts just in regard of it history which is present daily and prefer to give way to more important military nations like the USA and Britain.
So there is very little support in the German population to the German army and so the German army has been always more tolerated as an evil than being accepted.

In fact Germany does not an army anymore.