Bundeswehr unit says goodbye to trans commander with unicorn

To say goodbye to Anastasia Biefang, the 700 soldiers in Storkow converted an emergency vehicle into a unicorn, the mascot of their commander during an assignment abroad in Afghanistan. The 46-year-old was accordingly touched on Tuesday: she was leaving Storkow with a "crying heart". In 26 years of service she has never experienced such a strong bond as in Storkow.

During a festive closing roll call, including a change of military command, Anastasia Biefang handed over the leadership after three years as Bundeswehr commander. She was the first woman in Germany to hold this post.

Symbolic figure in the Bundeswehr
Biefang joined the Bundeswehr as a man. Since she, as she says herself, felt more and more like a woman, she decided to have sex reassigned a few years ago. To her own astonishment, as she says, this did not result in a loss of career in the Bundeswehr: Immediately after her gender reassignment to a woman, she took over the information technology battalion in Storkow.

The current change is a normal procedure: The Krefeld native is taking on a position as a general staff officer in the Bundeswehr command cyber and information space in Bonn.

"Leadership is a privilege"
She experienced the cooperation with the troops and the region as very supportive, said Biefang in an interview with rbb in August: "It was a very great privilege to lead the troop".

In 2019, the documentary "Ich bin Anastasia" addressed her personal process of change and also how the battalion dealt with the change. Biefang itself is also committed to the interests of transgender people in the Bundeswehr. For years she has been calling for diversity management for the troops. Biefang's commitment has also made an impression in the region. For example, she supported the LesBiSchwule tour through East Brandenburg in August .

Her successor is Lieutenant Colonel Marc Tachlinski. He previously worked for the Federal Armed Forces Personnel Management in Cologne. Due to the restrictions due to the corona pandemic, only invited guests were allowed to attend the ceremony.

The Bundeswehr Information Technology Battalion 381 in the Storkow Kurmark barracks currently has around 700 soldiers who set up mobile data connections during Bundeswehr operations and exercises at home and abroad.

Source: rbb24.de