Brigadier General Steven Kurjahn, Commander of the German Army Maintenance School in Aachen, sat down with Harry at Combat Engineer and Logistics 2026 to discuss how Germany is scaling its military training capability ahead of its NATO commitment to field 260,000 soldiers by 2029.
General Kurjahn covers the challenges of maintaining increasingly complex weapon systems, from main battle tanks to infantry fighting vehicles, as new technology both simplifies and complicates maintenance schedules. He also shares how lessons learned directly from Ukrainian crews operating Leopard 2s and Marders in combat are being integrated into Germany’s national training programmes.
With recruiting and personnel development identified as the single biggest challenge, General Kurjahn outlines how his school is embracing digitalization, augmented reality, and simulation systems to prepare the next generation of logistics and maintenance soldiers across the German Army, Air Force, and Navy.
