Woman to head German naval unit for first time

A woman has taken over the helm of a German naval base for the first time.

"[It's] a return to a home that I have grown fond of, to waters that are familiar to me," the new commander of the 3rd Minesweeper Squadron, Inka von Puttkamer, said at a ceremonial roll call at the naval base in the northern city of Kiel.

Alongside another female soldier, she was the first woman to become a commander in the navy. In Kiel, she was commander of the minehunter Homburg and deputy commander of the 3rd Minesweeper Squadron.

Born in Wilhelmshaven, the 41-year-old wants to be a role model. "The Bundeswehr offers my husband and me the opportunity to be in leadership positions and to be able to reconcile this with our family," she said on the sidelines of the ceremony.

"Without question, it's stressful and requires a lot of organization and advance planning. But it is possible."

She would like the change of command to be accompanied by the message that the Bundeswehr - Germany's armed forces - makes it possible for women to take on such positions.

The squadron includes 10 minehunting vessels. Recently, soldiers discovered a 1.8-ton British aerial mine during an exercise in the Kiel Fjord. It was the largest unexploded bomb from World War II ever found in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, according to police reports.

According to the Bundeswehr, there are currently 24,418 female soldiers in the armed forces. At 13%, this is still a comparatively low proportion. There are 6,950 female officers.

There are 1,728 women serving in the navy, significantly fewer than in the army (4,673) and the air force (2,632).