Manfred Nielson

Last updated
Manfred Nielson
Admiral Manfred Nielson DSACT.jpg
Born (1955-02-25) February 25, 1955 (age 67)
Dorsten, West Germany
AllegianceFlag of Germany.svg  Germany
Service/branchNaval Ensign of Germany.svg  German Navy
Years of service1973–2019
Rank MDS 64 Admiral Trp.svg Admiral
Commands held
Awards GER Bundeswehr Honour Cross Gold ribbon.svg BW Einsatz ENDURING FREEDOM Bandschnalle bronze.svg Bandschnalle Fluthilfe 2013.jpg

Manfred Nielson (born February 25, 1955) is a retired admiral of the German Navy who last served as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia. [1]

Contents

Career

Education and first assignments

After finishing his A-levels in 1973, Nielson entered the West German navy as reserve officer candidate. From 1974 to 1975 he served as Watch officer on the coastal minesweeper Koblenz and Wetzlar with the 6th minesweeping squadron in Wilhelmshaven. Beginning in 1975 he studied economics at the Helmut Schmidt University of the Bundeswehr in Hamburg and graduated in 1978 with a master's degree. After graduating he returned to the German Fleet and served as watch officer on board of the minehunter Flensburg, Cuxhaven and Koblenz. From 1980 to 1981 he completed a special training course related to the application of submerged weapons at the Navy weapon school in Eckernförde. He subsequently took over command of the minehunters Tübingen in 1983 and Paderborn in 1985. In 1985, Nielson released his command and was redeployed to the West German defense staff in Bonn where he served as junior adviser.

Staff officer assignments

From 1986 to 1988 he successfully joined the 28th Command and General staff course at the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr of the Bundeswehr in Hamburg and was promoted to the rank of corvette captain. In 1988 Nielson became the operations officer and deputy commander of the 6th minesweeping squadron in Wilhelmshaven. In 1990 he returned to the Federal German Ministry of Defense in Bonn where he served as adviser in the Directorate-General for Personnel. From 1994 to 1997 he was the special assistant to the Director-General for Personnel of the Ministry of Defense. In 1997 he took over command of the 6th minesweeping squadron in Wilhelmshaven. A further redeployment in 1998 brought Nielson back to the German Ministry of Defense where he became Branch Chief Central Affairs within the Directorate-General for Plans and Policy by simultaneously being promoted to the rank of captain. In 2000 he changed his post within the same Directorate and served as Branch Chief Personnel. From 2002 to 2002 Nielson was Director of the personal office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense Klaus-Günther Biederbick.

Flag assignments

In 2003, Nielson was promoted to the rank of rear admiral (lower half). He took command of the German Naval Academy in Flensburg and was in charge of the education of all prospective German naval officers. From May till October 2003 he was deployed to the Horn of Africa where he served as Commander Combined Task Force 150 with the Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2005 he was once again redeployed to the Ministry of Defence where he acted as Division Chief of the Directorate-General for Personnel.

In 2008, Nielson was promoted to rear admiral (upper half). He served as Chief of Staff of the German Defense Staff within the Ministry of Defense under the command of the German Chiefs of Defense Wolfgang Schneiderhan and Volker Wieker. On July 1, 2010 he was promoted to vice admiral and became Commander of the German Fleet Command in Glücksburg. During that tour of duty vice admiral Nielson was selected by the Secretary of Defense Thomas de Maizière to become Director of a special staff that was created to prepare the intended restructuring process of the Bundeswehr. [2] In June 2011 he was selected as Special Director for the audit of all running and planned procurement projects of the Bundeswehr under the scope of the restructuring process. [3] This job was followed by the order to prepare the establishment of a new Directorate-General for Planning within the Ministry of Defense in Berlin. In April 2012 took over command of the Joint Support Service Command of the German Forces in Bonn leading over 43.000 personnel. Nielson took over his new assignment within NATO as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia on March 24, 2016. He is the fifth German naval officer since 1955 to hold the rank of a full admiral. [4]

Awards and decorations

Private life

Nielson is married with two children, now adults.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany)</span> Federal ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany

The Federal Ministry of Defence, abbreviated BMVg, is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The ministry is headquartered at the Hardthöhe district in Bonn and has a second office in the Bendlerblock building in Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adolf Heusinger</span> German military officer

Adolf Bruno Heinrich Ernst Heusinger was a German military officer whose career spanned the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany and West Germany. He joined the German Army as a volunteer in 1915 and later became a professional soldier. He served as the Operations Chief within the general staff of the High Command of the German Army in the Wehrmacht from 1938 to 1944. He was then appointed acting Chief of the General Staff for two weeks in 1944 following Kurt Zeitzler's resignation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inspector General of the Bundeswehr</span> Highest-ranking military position in the modern German military

The Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, is the highest-ranking military position held by a commissioned officer on active duty in the Bundeswehr, the present-day armed forces of Germany.

Admiral Rainer Feist was an officer in the German Navy until his retirement in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dieter Stöckmann</span> German general

Dieter Stöckmann is a retired German general of the Bundeswehr. He was Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe from 1996 to 1998.

Wolfram Kühn is a retired German Navy Vizeadmiral. He served as Deputy Inspector General of the Bundeswehr and Inspector of the Joint Support Service from 2006 to his retirement in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Bertholee</span> Head of the General Intelligence and Security Service (2011–2018)

Robert Antonius Cornelis "Rob" Bertholee is a retired lieutenant general of the Royal Netherlands Army who served the head of the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) from 2011 to 2018. He previously was Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army from 2008 to 2011. Born in Haarlem, Bertholee is married and has one daughter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Günter Weiler</span>

Günter Friedrich Weiler is a retired lieutenant general of the German Army, the Bundeswehr. From 16 September 2010 until 9 April 2013, he was the Deputy Inspector General of the Bundeswehr.

Helge Hansen is a retired general who served in the German Army within the Bundeswehr. From 1992 to 1994 he was the Inspector of the Army and from 1994 to 1996 he was Commander Allied Forces Central Europe within NATO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markus Krause-Traudes</span> German admiral

Markus Krause-Traudes is a Flottillenadmiral of the German Navy, who has served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, at the Multinational Joint Headquarters Ulm since April 2012.

Achim Lidsba was a Major General of the Army and the German Armed Forces and since 14 July 2011 Commander of the Armed Forces Staff College in Hamburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inspector of the Navy</span> Commander of the German Navy

The Inspector of the Navy is the commander of the Navy of the modern-day German Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr. Since the various bodies responsible for the high command of the German Navy were merged in 2012, the Inspector has been based at the Navy Command at Rostock. Before then, the Inspector was head of the Naval Staff of the Ministry of Defence, based in Bonn. Both the Inspector and his deputy hold the rank of vice admiral.

Klaus von Dambrowski is a Konteradmiral of the German Navy and Chief of Staff of the Navy Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andreas Krause (admiral)</span> German admiral

Andreas Krause is a Vizeadmiral of the German Navy of the Bundeswehr, and he served as Inspector of the Navy. He previously served as a U-boat officer, as a staff officer in the Bundeswehr and NATO, as commander of the German Navy's 1st Flotilla and the Maritime Task Force for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, and as Deputy Inspector of the Navy.

Rainer Maria Brinkmann is a Vizeadmiral of the German Navy, and the current Deputy Inspector of the Navy. He previously served in fast attack craft units, and in staff positions, and has a degree in education from the University of the Bundeswehr Hamburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyber and Information Domain Service</span> Branch of the German armed forces

The Cyber and Information Domain Service is the youngest branch of Germany's military, the Bundeswehr. The decision to form a new military branch was presented by Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen on 26 April 2016, becoming operational on 1 April 2017. The headquarter of the Cyber and Information Domain Service is Bonn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aarne Kreuzinger-Janik</span>

Aarne Emil Kreuzinger-Janik is a German lieutenant general of the Bundeswehr. He was the commander of the Air Force Forces Command from 2006 to 2009, and, from 2009 to 2012, the 14th Inspector of the Air Force.

Jan Christian Kaack is a Vizeadmiral of the German Navy and as of March 11th, 2022 Inspector of the Navy.

Wim Robberecht is a Belgian naval officer who holds the rank of divisional admiral and since 2016 has served as the commander of the Belgian Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eberhard Zorn</span> German general (born 1960)

Eberhard Zorn is a German general who serves as the 16th and incumbent Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, the German Armed Forces.

References

  1. Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Change of Responsibility Ceremony Archived 2017-09-18 at the Wayback Machine Press release of ACT PAO, dated March 24th 2016.
  2. "Ministerweisung: Nächster Schritt beim Umbau". BMVg. 2011-03-28. Retrieved 2011-06-26.
  3. "Details der Einzelprojekte zur Neuausrichtung". BMVg. 2011-06-22. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
  4. "Meldung Kommandoübergabe Streitkräftebasis". WDR. 2015-08-10. Retrieved 2016-04-07.