German TV crew "tests" security at Bundeswehr installations

baba85 · 07-06-2011, 02:33

Reporters from German TV station SWR have tried to enter military installations of the German Army using fake IDs, old Bundeswehr IDs, and old orders concerning exercises from reservists.

Shockingly they managed to enter several bases easily, due to the fact that they weren't checked properly or not checked at all.
At Munster (one of the Bundeswehr's biggest installations) they told the security personnel, which can consist of civilian guards, military members or both, that they forgot to bring an ID on which they were allowed to enter only being reminded to stop the car on the side of the road when entering next time.
They also managed to enter the Army Aviation Corp's base at Faßberg using a military ID that was issued 15 years ago. Faßberg is home to the "Tiger" attack helicopters and obviously no one cares about civilians entering the hangars so they can take a closer look at the choppers.
The last "test" was conducted in Hannover (on a base that primarily hosts MPs!) using the same ID as in Faßberg but this time replacing the guys picture with a female's.
As seen in the video, personnel at the checkpoint only respond with a simple "mornin".
The video also shows the reporters lurking around amongst APCs, light battle tanks and of course the "Tigers" at Faßberg.

Furthermore the tv-crew can bee seen beginning conversations with military personnel asking them for the right way to the motor pool or the commander's office. In Hannover they also entered offices (with civilian & military personnel present) checking soldiers' personal files and other documents.
Neither the civilians or the military personnel on all three bases asked them what they're doing or who they actually were once.

Someone's getting fired..............

(video in german)
http://www.swr.de/report/ungesichert...mfv/index.html

baba85 · 07-06-2011, 03:05

Maybe the good news is that there's no more need for contact officers going to schools and universities in order to inform the kids and students about career opportunities in the Bundeswehr.
As it appears the kids might as well take a closer look at their country's armed forces themselves.......

The whole thing reminds me of an incident that occured a bit less than a month ago. Me and some colleagues had a couple of beers and (being drunk) we decided it might be a good idea trying to conquer the famous Tour de France mountain of Alpe d'Huez with mountainbikes. So we packed our stuff and drove to France.
During our trip through three countries (Germany, Switzerland & France) we almost made it past all borders without being controlled once. Well almost. When entering Germany coming from Switzerland our vehicle was stopped and our driver (veeery junior), who hadn't dealt with customs or federal police before, got very nervous.

female customs trooper: "Where you coming from?"
Junior: "Eerrrm, eeerr, eerrm, dude where we've been? eerrm ..... oh yeah, Alpe D'Huez, eerrm France!"
Now I thought she'd ask us to pull the car out of the line so they can take a look at it/us. Instead:
female customs trooper: "Business or pleasure?"
Junior: "Eerm, pleasure"
female customs trooper: "Ok. Have a safe ride home."

Now I'm everything but pro "police state" but seriously, if a driver can't remember where he's been, shouldn't it be normal to check the car and the passengers?
Even if one could assume that a very young driver might just get nervous when dealing with authorities, I actually got mad at her for not checking us.