The German contingent of the Counter-Improvised Explosive Devices Centre of Excellence celebrates the 66th Anniversary of the Bundeswehr's founding

• Germany is one of the 12 nations represented at the C-IED CoE; Spain is the host nation
• The Defence Attaché at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Madrid attended the celebration

The German contingent within the Counter-Improvised Explosive Devices Centre of Excellence (C-IED CoE) has celebrated the 66th Anniversary of the Bundeswehr, in the facilities located at the Engineering Academy in Hoyo de Manzanares, Madrid.  

This contingent is made up of two officers, and its National Representative in the COE is Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Berndt. The contingent is one of the eleven contingents that make up the structure of this International Military Organisation, in addition to the Spanish contingent.

The celebration was also attended by the Defence Attaché at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Madrid, Colonel Harald Wegener, as well as German personnel from the Defence Attaché Office, stationed at CAOC Torrejón, the German Liaison Officer at the Directorate-General for Defence Policy and the Officer responsible for the C-IED at the German Ministry of Defence, who is in Madrid attending the annual meeting of the COE Steering Committee.

Colonel Wegener gave a brief overview of the founding of the Bundeswehr as well as a summary of its current situation and future challenges.

The Bundeswehr was established on 12 November 1955, following the breaking-up of the German army at the end of the Second World War and after the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 and its accession to NATO in May 1955.

Counter-Improvised Explosive Devices Centre of Excellence

The Counter-Improvised Explosive Devices Centre of Excellence (C-IED CoE), one of 26 NATO Accredited Centres of Excellence, is located in Hoyo de Manzanares, Madrid.

Its mission is to provide expert support to NATO, NATO partners and the International Community in the fight against the IED System in order to increase the security of deployed troops by reducing or eliminating the IED threat, especially from terrorist and insurgent networks.

The Centre was offered by Spain to NATO as part of its network of Centres of Excellence and was accredited by the Alliance in November 2010.

The Centre is currently staffed by personnel from the 12 NATO-sponsoring nations: Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic, the United States, France, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and Turkey.