He joined the Bundeswehr in 1958 and served as German Military Representative to the NATO Military Committee in Brussels, where he was Chief of the Military Policy, Nuclear Strategy and Arms Control Section. Promoted to Brigadier General in 1986, he became Deputy Chief of Staff (Planning), followed by a Two Star assignment as Deputy Chief of Staff (Politico-Military affairs and operations), both at Armed Forces Staff, MOD Bonn. In 1996 he was elected as Chairman of the North Atlantic Military Committee by the NATO Chiefs of Defence. He has received many military awards and decorations and he is also the author of several books, among which Die Bundeswehr in einer Welt im Umbruch (The Bundeswehr in a world of transition).