Rainer Maria Brinkmann (born 3 March 1958) is a ''

Vizeadmiral (; abbreviated VAdm) is a senior naval flag officer rank in several German-speaking countries, equivalent to Vice admiral. Austria-Hungary In the Austro-Hungarian Navy there were the flag-officer ranks ''Kontreadmiral'' (also spelled ''Ko ...

'' of the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...

, and the current Deputy

Inspector of the 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 th ...

. 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.

Military career

Brinkmann joined the German Navy as an enlisted member in 1976, serving on the deck crew of ships in the 7th Fast Attack Squadron (''7. Schnellbootgeschwader'') and the '' Gorch Fock''. In 1977 he decided to pursue a career as an officer, and after a year of officer training entered the University of the Bundeswehr Hamburg in 1978. He studied education, completing his degree in 1981. He then went training as a weapons officer at the 5th Fast Attack Squadron, based in

Kappeln Kappeln () is a town in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the north bank of the Schlei, approx. northeast of Schleswig, and southeast of Flensburg. For the eastern Angeln and the northern S ...

. He served with the squadron until 1985, when he was appointed as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of the Schleswig-Holstein Territorial Command, and German liaison officer to

Allied Forces Northern Europe Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) was the northern Major Subordinate command (military formation), Command of NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Allied Command Europe (ACE), located at Kolsås outside Oslo. In the case of war ...

. In 1987–88, Brinkmann completed the "B" course on above-water weapon systems, including field training. He was then appointed to his first command, of a ''Tiger''-class fast attack craft, ''S 53 "Pelikan"'' of the 5th Fast Attack Squadron, which he served in from 1988 to 1990. From 1990 to 1992, he was part of the naval staff officers' course at the ''

Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr The Bundeswehr Command and Staff College (, ''FüAkBw'') is the General Staff College (''Senior Military Academy'') of the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, established in 1957 as the successor of the Prussian Military Academy, founded in 181 ...

'' in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. He then served as

operations officer Military operations is a concept and application of military science that involves planning the operations for the projected maneuvering forces' provisions, services, training, and administrative functions—to allow them to commence, insert, t ...

(S3) and deputy commander of the 2nd Fast Attack Squadron based in Kappeln. Brinkmann served as a personal staff officer at the

Federal Ministry of Defence 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 barracks itself located at t ...

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, before returning to the 7th Fast Attack Squadron, to serve as its commander from 1997 to 1999, based in Warnemunde. From 1999 to 2001, Brinkmann was a department head at the Navy Office in

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

, and from 2001 to 2003 he was a department head at the Personnel Office of the Bundeswehr in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. He then worked at the Federal Ministry of Defence, as the section head for personnel management of admiral officers and full captains from 2003 to 2006, and as section head for operational policy from 2006 to 2007. In 2007–08, he served as chief of staff and deputy commander of the 1st Flotilla (''Einsatzflottille 1'') based in

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

. In 2008, he was promoted to

flotilla admiral Flotilla admiral is the lowest flag rank, a rank above captain, in the modern navies of Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Sweden and Lithuania. It corresponds to the rank of commodore in the navies of the United Kingdom and certai ...

, and took command of the flotilla and the NATO Centre of Excellence for Operations in Confined and Shallow Waters, succeeding from Andreas Krause. From 2010 to 2012, he served as deputy director of a Federal Ministry of Defence department in Bonn, and from 2012 to 2014, he served as deputy commander of the Bundeswehr Operations Command (responsible for Bundeswehr operational missions, including foreign deployments). While in this role, he travelled to

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

to visit German troops participating in

EUTM Mali EUTM Mali (European Union Training Mission in Mali) was a European Union multinational military training mission headquartered in Bamako, Mali. 22 EU member states (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece ...

. On 23 October 2014, he took over from Andreas Krause as Deputy Inspector of the Navy, joining Navy Command in Rostock. Shortly thereafter, he was promoted to the rank of ''

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brinkmann, Rainer 1958 births Living people Vice admirals of the German Navy People from Warburg Recipients of the Badge of Honour of the Bundeswehr Helmut Schmidt University alumni