Hydrogeology and the Bundeswehr : water supply to German armed forces in Somalia, Kosovo and Afghanistan between 1993 and 2010

Abstract

An army, the Bundeswehr, was created in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1956, from the 1960s supported by full-time geologists employed as civilians but with reserve army military ranks. A peak geologist strength (about 20) was achieved in the 1980s, to provide expertise that included hydrogeology. Roles in these Cold War years were confined to Germany, but included guidance to ensure that potable water would be available both to the civilian population and armed forces during a state of emergency, and the optimum siting of boreholes to supply water to military installations. In 1993, Bundeswehr troops deployed overseas, to support United Nations (UN) peace-keeping operations in Somalia. Military geological expertise was used to site wells that enhanced secure water supplies for German and other UN personnel, and the civilian population. In 1999, Bundeswehr troops were among those of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) deployed to Kosovo. Wells to supply water to German troops in Albania and Yugoslavian Macedonia prior to deployment, and in Kosovo itself, were drilled under civilian contract but military geologist guidance. From 2002, Bundeswehr troops joined coalition forces in Afghanistan. Well drilling was again guided by military geologist expertise, but contract drilling proved inadequate, so was supplemented by rigs operated by military engineers. These operations have proved the value to the Bundeswehr of retaining military expertise in both hydrogeology and well drilling.

Military aspects of hydrogeology: an introduction and overview

“…It was calculated initially that 75 trucks each carrying 85 jerry cans with a capacity of 20 l were required for transporting the daily requirements of just one army division between water supply points. However, both British and German forces came to make significant use of drilled boreholes to reduce the need for longdistance water transport, and wells sited with geologist guidance were progressively developed as the conflict oscillated across North Africa (Rose 2012b;Willig & Häusler 2012b Robins et al 2012;Rose 2012b;Willig & Häusler 2012b) and subsequent conflicts (Dow & Rose 2012;Gellasch 2012;Willig 2012).…”

“…An army was re-formed in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1956 and from the early 1960s has been supported by full-time geologists employed as civilians but with reserve army ranks. This group reached a peak in number of about 20 in the 1980s, with the provision of emergency water supplies for military sites among its principal tasks (Willig 2012).…”

“…These include Vietnam (Gellasch 2012), the Persian/Arabian Gulf (Knowles & Wedge 1998), Bosnia (Nathanail 1998), Somalia and Kosovo (Willig 2012) and currently Iraq and Afghanistan (Dow & Rose 2012;Gellasch 2012;Willig 2012). Highlights of their work include the use of remote sensing to determine the location of active wells in denied areas of Iraq at the time of the Gulf War, the use of borehole geophysical measurements to support well drilling, and the use of down-the-hole-hammer drilling in Afghanistan.…”