Military Academy - Germany

Germany

In Germany there exists a system which clearly differs from the common ones. The only true military academies are in fact the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr where mainly future staff officers and general staff officers are further trained.

The standard education in military leadership is the task of the Offizierschulen (officer's schools) run by the three branches. The contents differ from branch to branch. In the army all officers are at least trained to lead a platoon. There they also have to pass an officer exam to become commissioned later on.

Moreover there exist so called Waffenschulen like infantry school or artillery school. There the officer's learn to deal with the typical tasks of their respective corps. A specialty of the German concept of officer formation is the academic education. Germany runs two own Universities of the German Federal Armed Forces where almost every future officer has to pass non-military studies and achieve a Bachelor's or Master's degree. During their studies (after at least three years of service) the candidates become commissioned Leutnant (second-lieutenant).

The three officer's schools are:

• The German Navy supervises:
  • Naval Academy at Mürwik, located in Flensburg
• The German Army supervises:
  • Offizierschule des Heeres, located in Dresden
• The Luftwaffe supervises:
  • Offizierschule der Luftwaffe, located in Fürstenfeldbruck

Academic and staff education:

• Universities of the German Federal Armed Forces
  • Helmut Schmidt University, located in Hamburg
  • Bundeswehr University Munich, located in Munich
• Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr, located in Hamburg