After severe misconduct was uncovered in the parachute regiment 26 in Zweibrücken, the new commander has urged his soldiers to actively participate in a fresh start for the unit and to report any further problems immediately.
In an internal letter dated 19 January, covered by “Der Spiegel”, Colonel Martin Holle ordered the immediate conduct of “an anonymous and voluntary survey on the internal and social situation within the regiment”. He asked the regiment’s roughly 1,700 soldiers to describe any additional issues in their interpersonal relationships “openly and honestly”. “Only those who get involved can change things” Holle wrote.
The regiment had recently made headlines because of extensive disciplinary investigations that uncovered several cases of sexual harassment, extremist activity, and drug use. Fifty‑five soldiers from parachute regiment 26 are considered suspects, and the prosecutor’s office has issued 16 warrants. Nine soldiers have already been dismissed, and others are facing removal from the unit.
With the anonymous survey among the regiment’s personnel, the new commander is pre‐empting a “dark‑box study” ordered by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) that aims to examine the prevalence of sexual harassment of women in the German armed forces.
In the letter, Holle warned against blaming the media for the regiment’s loss of reputation. He described the coverage as “very negative, but unfortunately largely accurate” but said the real problem was “the misconduct of a few among us who have dragged our performance, our name, and our camaraderie into the mud” according to Holle.
Next Wednesday, the Army Inspector, responding to the scandal, will introduce a comprehensive action plan for the Luftlandestruppe (airborne troops) of the Bundeswehr. A bundle of measures will be implemented to prevent incidents like the one in Zweibrücken from going undetected in the future. Enhanced command supervision is planned, along with structural changes to improve leadership and stronger prevention measures.