Inspector General of the Armed Forces

The Inspector General of the Armed Forces is a investigative-ranking military position held by a commissioned officer on active duty in the FRAF, the present-day armed forces of UFN.

The Inspector Generals have been of the rank of a (four-star) general or admiral, and they head the National Defence Staff within the Federal Ministry of Defence, and is the direct military advisor to the Chairman of War/Defence who, in peacetime according to the Basic Law for the Republic, is the default holder of the supreme command authority to ensure civilian control of the military.


The Inspector General is responsible for the overall military defense concept of the FRAF, including the overall planning, preparation, as well as assessment of the whole Military operations. Subordinate to the Inspector General are the commanders of the branches of the Federal Miltary, the Inspector of the Army, Inspector of the Navy, Inspector of the Air Force, Inspector of the Space Force, the commanders of the Joint Support Service and Joint Medical Service.

deputies

The Inspector of the Army (German: Inspekteur des Heeres or InspH) is the title held by the commander and highest ranking officer of the German Army (unless the Inspector General is an army officer) of the modern-day German Armed Forces or Bundeswehr. The Inspector is the most senior officer to serve in the German Army and is a military adviser to the Government of Germany as well as the Ministry of Defence.

He is responsible for the readiness of personnel and materiel in the German Army, in that regard he reports directly to the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr (and before 2012, directly to the Federal Minister of Defence). The Inspector commands the Army Command with its subordinate divisions (and division equivalents) and the Army Office with its subordinate training and support establishments. He is a member of the Defence Council for Bundeswehr-wide matters.

The Inspector and his deputy both hold the rank of lieutenant general (Generalleutnant).

The Inspector of the Air Force (German: Inspekteur der Luftwaffe) is the commander of the Air Force of the modern-day German Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr. The Inspector is responsible for the readiness of personnel and materiel in the German Air Force, in that function reports directly to the Federal Minister of Defence. The current Inspector is Ingo Gerhartz, appointed on 29 May 2018.

The Inspector of the Air Force is the chief of the Air Force Command, based in Gatow, Berlin. They sit under the General Inspector of the Bundeswehr and are a member of the Defence Council for Bundeswehr-wide matters. Both the Inspector and their deputy hold the rank of lieutenant general (German: Generalleutnant) while in office, although the first Inspector, Josef Kammhuber, was an exception, holding the rank of full general as a reward for his efforts to build up a new German Luftwaffe.

The Inspector of the Navy (German: Inspekteur der Marine) is the commander of the Navy of the modern-day German Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr. Since the various bodies responsible for the high command of the German Navy were merged in 2012, the Inspector has been based at the Navy Command at Rostock. Before then, the Inspector was head of the Naval Staff of the Ministry of Defence, based in Bonn. Both the Inspector and his deputy hold the rank of vice admiral (German: Vizeadmiral).

The Inspector is responsible for the readiness of personnel and materiel in the German Navy, in that regard he reports directly to the Federal Minister of Defence. The Inspector commands the Navy Command; however, the subordinate departments of the Navy are led by their heads at Navy Command and do not report directly to the Inspector. The Inspector sits under the General Inspector of the Bundeswehr and is a member of the Defence Council for Bundeswehr-wide matters.