Brothers in arms

The photos of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, former French President Francois Mitterrand and countless defense ministers from Germany and France in the brigade's headquarters in Muellheim are the proof: Politicians enjoy coming to this town in the southern corner of Germany that meets France and Switzerland.

What French and German soldiers do here is still unique in Europe, even 20 years after the establishment of the German-French Brigade. Europe's only bi-national unit is made up of some 5,000 soldiers from Germany and France. When the project was conceived in 1989 by Kohl and Mitterrand, there was nothing else like it.

One unit, two nations

The difficulties from those days, such as language problems, are still big challenges for the unit's current commander, Gen. Andreas Berg.

As foresighted as the brigade may be in terms of providing the basis for a future European army, language issues never seem to go away. Just look at barracks security. The German-French security crew at the gate can often only communicate with sign language, because the German doesn't speak any French, and his French comrade doesn't speak German. The troops are actually meant to be able to work in two foreign languages, with English being the lingua franca in international matters of business.

For 20 years now, the troops have been practicing their cooperation, but in that time, the soldiers have only twice been sent abroad together: to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Afghanistan.

Only when the ministries of defense in Berlin and Paris agree on a mission does the brigade get the green light. These joint operations are now so far in the past that most of the soldiers who participated in them have since moved on to other posts.

This makes veterans in Muellheim, such as the French Sgt. Maj. Robert Lenhardt, impatient. Lenhardt said it bothers him that the brigade is always presented as a showcase project at official events. In reality, he said, it's politics that prevent more action.

"We can sleep in the same barracks and eat in the same canteen, no problem," he said. "But anyone can do that; just go on vacation in the summertime. We're soldiers and we're there for a certain purpose, and we never get to put it to the test."

Waiting for a common mission

Unlike many of his colleagues, Lenhardt moves easily in the German-French environment. Such "bridge builders" in the brigade are often found among the unit's management. There, bilateral cooperation is a matter of course, because at higher levels, there are no language difficulties. The average soldier, on the other hand, typically only sees his colleagues from the neighboring country at meals or while playing sports.

Soon, the brigade will also have a location in France. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel plan to permanently station around 700 Bundeswehr soldiers in Alsace. Many in Muellheim hope that the location in Strasbourg will be a further symbolic step forward that will give the brigade new momentum.

Author: Andreas Noll (dc)

Editor: Sean Sinico