Civil protection; information on civil-military cooperation

In addition to the agencies responsible for civil protection, the Bundeswehr can make an important contribution to protecting the citizens of Germany if required. Subsidiary assistance in the event of disasters or other major incidents is particularly important here. If the responsible civil protection authorities come to the conclusion during the management of these events that assistance from the Bundeswehr is required, they can request its support in the form of personnel or material as part of a request for administrative assistance.

Regular, level-appropriate coordination between the responsible military and civilian authorities is of crucial importance to ensure that there is clarity about the possible support services provided by the Bundeswehr when required. With this in mind, the vertical division of the Bundeswehr into a state command, district liaison command (BVK) and district liaison command (KVK) essentially corresponds to the division of the Bavarian disaster control authorities into the Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior, for Sport and Integration, district governments and district administrative authorities. In addition to concrete planning with regard to possible deployment scenarios, this is also intended to facilitate the exchange of information in all matters of common interest.

Reservists play a key role in civil-military cooperation. As Bundeswehr representatives for civil-military cooperation (BeaBwZMZ), they advise civilian authorities and organizations on all matters relating to military disaster relief. In the Free State of Bavaria, they are in charge of the district liaison commands in the districts and independent cities and the district liaison commands in the administrative districts, which are managed by the Bavarian State Command. This makes them the point of contact for district administrators, mayors and district presidents and they assume the important role of mediator between the military and civilian side.