Veterans Affairs committee  As long as the treatment lasts, they have access to him.

Veterans Affairs committee  As long as the treatment lasts, he has the right to call up the ombudsman--in every case. If he is a civilian and, for example, the people caring for him make no decision, whether he is still ill or not, he can go to another committee of our Parliament and bring a petition to make sure his rights are taken care of.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, sir. In Germany we have the so-called organization of reservists. You can only belong as a member of this organization of reservists in Germany as long as you have reservist status. After your reservist status expires, you can be a passive member, or a member without duties, as it is called in this case.

Veterans Affairs committee  It's a private club; it exists by private means. If, for example, they want to have a beer or do some exercising, we give them our facilities to use; for example, in the barracks they can go into the mess and have a beer there, using the messes the same way as veterans do.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, sir, this is correct. We will continue as long as it is needed to help the soldier recover from a wound or something else he incurred while serving on duty, or if his time is finished. We will do this up to three years after his service ends. Once he has recovered, he is to look for his own contract with health insurance outside.

Veterans Affairs committee  Those rates are made by the government, and they depend on your age and your state of health.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, that's the point. The insurance company has to take you.

Veterans Affairs committee  It's pretty simple. For example, if the wife is a widow and she gets married again, then this man has to take care of her and he makes a certain amount of money, and depending on the new husband's income, the pension is cut down. In the case where the children are orphaned, they are entitled until they reach the age of 18.

Veterans Affairs committee  Our ombudsman is the same as the one in your system. He's a neutral person, and he's elected by the Parliament for a period of four years. He has the right to report to the Parliament and to use what I'd say is the power of the Parliament. I'm hopeful you understand; it sounds somewhat wrong when I say it.

Veterans Affairs committee  In the case where he becomes injured—for example, he is wounded and can no longer fill his job as he has lost an arm, leg, or something else—he receives a pension. That means between 66% and 75% of his last income, and he will get this money for his whole life. This is paid by the forces; that means it is paid by the government.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you very much, sir, for this question. I can't agree to the number you said. I don't know the exact number. I'm sorry about this. The thing is that we have a law for those war veterans coming from the Second World War. This law guarantees them a pension while they are wounded or handicapped.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, we don't have those services; we don't have those hospitals. We think everything is covered with our system that I described before. Even if they are no longer in the services, they have access to all public health systems. They can go there, they can be treated there, and they can be helped there.

Veterans Affairs committee  In cases of PTSD or in the case of someone suffering from a severe injury, as I mentioned before, they're looked after as long as this lasts. This is the only exception to the other timelines I mentioned before. We have this law now that says the forces have to employ those soldiers as long as they want to stay.

Veterans Affairs committee  For example, for doctors, they have a contract to serve for a minimum of 16 years. If they kick out before or break off with us, they have to pay all the money back that we invested in them for their university and for them to become a specialized doctor--for example, someone who does heart surgery or something else.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, sir, this is not the case. As I told you, there is always somebody behind them as backup. When the doctor is doing his university studies, he finishes his doctor's degree, and then he needs a phase of a couple of years to gain experience. While he is gaining experience he always has a mentor.