Military of Germany (Freedom Ascendant)

The Military of Germany includes all the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany, and is divided into several branches. They have origins in the old armies of the various states of Germany which were Prussian Provinces, then in the German Empire, and were reconstituted in the new Federal Republic. The entire military together is called the Bundeswehr, which refers to all branches as a whole.

Military Branches and their Roles

 * Heer (Army)
 * Marine (Navy)
 * Marineinfantrie (Marines)
 * Amphibious and expeditionary warfare
 * Luftwaffe (Air Force)
 * Defense of the skies over Germany and all overseas territories
 * Support national objectives and support national policies
 * Overcome all nations responsible for aggressive actions that threaten the peace and security of the German Republic
 * Küstenwache (Coast Guard)
 * Defend coasts of Germany from invasion
 * Maritime law enforcement
 * Search and Rescue operations
 * Maintenance of lighthouses and seamarks
 * Nationalgarde (National Guard)
 * Reserve component of the Bundeswehr, divided into several branches: Heeresnationalgarde (Army National Guard), Marinenationalgarde (Navy National Guard), Luftwaffenationalgarde (Air Force National Guard)
 * The National Guard is authorized by the German Constitution
 * Function in home states for disaster relief, defense from invasion
 * While not under federal control, the Nationalgarde is under the command of the Gouverneur of the Land (state)

Ranks of German Armed Forces
As part of NATO, the German rank structure contains the same number of officer and enlisted grades, sometimes with different names

Officer Ranks
Before the second World War, the German Army had the following rank structure:

Afterwards, with the aid of the Americans and British, the Germans made some adjustments to the rank structures to align with the new NATO rank structure, and to avoid misunderstandings with their allied counterparts: