Crackdown on Abuse in Bundeswehr

German Defense Minister Peter Struck vowed to crack down on Bundeswehr officers who had tortured recruits in training exercises and said he expects further cases of abuse to surface. In a series of interviews, Struck said he was distressed that recruits put through exercises to simulate torture by hostage-takers did not report the abuses sooner and urged any soldiers who faced such "illegal orders" to come forward now. "I want to put things in order. I want a clean Bundeswehr and I can only do that if these incidents are reported," Struck told German radio. Because of the abuses of the Nazi era, soldiers in Germany's post-war army get detailed training in human rights and are explicitly urged to report commanders who violate those rights.