Germany is planning to prepare 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers over the next two years, says Colonel Heiko Diehl as a guest for the interview project "Nachgefragt" in Bundeswehr. He is a Chief of Staff at the Special Training Command UA, which coordinates efforts by 18 EU countries willing to train Ukrainian soldiers under the EU Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM). Nine of them intend to establish their training within Germany.
At German training grounds, the program is focused on the weapons that Germany has provided to Ukraine, including the Patriot air defense missile system, PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers, and starting recently, Marder IFVs and Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks. The average timespan needed for one to master the Leopard tank is six weeks. The main focus of the training is "shooting and hitting".
Read more: Leopard 2 for Ukraine: Which Versions of the Tank Exist, How to Distinguish Between Them and Why It is An Important Factor
"One thing is to grasp the classic craft of [operating] the vehicle, so that I could control it and use it in battle. The other thing is teamwork" said Col. Diehl. It means interaction between Leopard and armored vehicles of the same type, like the Marder infantry fighting vehicle, when deployed jointly on a battlefield, or between tanks and combat support which may include artillery and other components of the combined arms warfare.
"The Leopard is superior when it can bring its speed, firepower and precision to the effect, combined with protection. That's why teamwork training is so important on this battle tank."
As a reminder, earlier Polish media reported that Ukrainians were showing remarkable persistence in learning Leopard 2A4 in Poland, spending 12 hours a day, six days a week in the training center. This, among other factors, allowed to shorten the course from three months to a single month.
The same schedule Ukrainians keep in Germany as well, says one of the Bundeswehr's instructors. He and his colleagues are there to help them learn faster almost around the clock. "We know how urgent it is," a German instructor says. "If they (Ukrainian soldiers – ed. Defense Express) have any questions, I'll take them to the tank again at any time and explain it."
In contrast to the Polish program, Germany will also train repair crews for the maintenance of Leopard tanks, the duration is the same, six to seven weeks. According to Col. Diehl, Germany wants to make training program systematic, divided into specialized courses for drivers, gunners and maintenance personnel separately. Even the repair class will be specialized in particular part of the vehicle, be it the hull, the tracks or the gun. The same goes not only for Leopard but other German-provided weapons as well, specifically he outlined Marder.
Earlier Defense Express pointed out some of the challenges Ukrainian tank crews may encounter when learning how to operate Leopard 2 tanks, in the article below.
Read more: How Long Will it Take to Train Ukrainian Tankers to Use German Leopard 2 Tanks
