Several German officials who criticized the notorious G36 assault rifle have been reportedly suspended from their posts over the last few years.
According to Stern, the revelations of G36 rifle’s shortcomings were apparently not to the taste of the President of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw), Harald Stein, who exerted pressure on his employees and repeatedly forced them to change jobs.
The step reportedly outraged Stein who launched a disciplinary investigation and demoted other critics to lower posts.
German media suggests that there might be some kind of protection policy between the Office and the manufacturer Heckler & Koch. This suspicion was expressed in early April of 2012 by one of the Office’s experts who mentioned “economic-political reasons”.
In May, the German magazine also reported about arms expert Dieter J., who warned that G36 rifles were produced from an unsuitable material, however he was considered crazy. In 2008 and 2010, the Office even launched a "psychiatric-psychological investigation" into the "state" of its employee, which found no evidence of these claims in the Administrative Court of Koblenz.
