Armed Forces Staff (Germany)

Armed Forces Staff
Führungsstab der Streitkräfte (Fü S) im BMVg
Formation sign of the Fü S
ActiveNovember 1955–October 2012
Country Germany
Allegiance Bundeswehr
TypeDept. of Inspector General of the Bundeswehr
Size300
LocationHardthöhe, Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia
Websitewww.bmvg.de
General Naumann with Formation sign Fü S und cuff sign.

The Armed Forces Staff, in the meaning of General staff, of the German Bundeswehr (German: Führungsstab der Streitkräfte - Fü S; literal: Command staff of the armed forces) was the central department of the Federal Ministry of Defence (MOD) in direct subordination to the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr (en: Chief of Staff of the Federal Armed Forces) and one of the five staff headquarters in the military command of the German Bundeswehr.

The Armed Forces Staff was thus at the same time a supreme military command authority and the top level ministerial staff organisation, authorised, mandated and competent to overall military defence planning, basics and concepts of military policy, planning of operational command and control, as well as to plans a policy of personnel education and training.

In 2012, there existed supreme military command authorities in the MOD as follows:

  • Armed Forces Staff (Führungsstab der Streitkräfte – Fü S; General Staff of the Armed Forces)
  • Army Staff (Führungsstab des Heeres – Fü H; Army General Staff)
  • Air Force Staff (Führungsstab der Luftwaffe – Fü L; Air Force General Staff)
  • Navy Staff (Führungsstab der Marine – Fü M)
  • Medical Staff (Führungsstab des Sanitätsdienstes – Fü San; Medical Service Staff)

Parts of these top-level staff authorities were merged in order to establish the new high command authorities of the German Bundeswehr as follow:

In line to the new Bundeswehr command structure, the remaining staff elements were used on the MOD level to form:

  • a Planning Division
  • an Armed Forces Command and Control Division and
  • a Strategy and Operations Division.