"We must face up to threats where they arise," he told the Bundestag lower house of parliament in a keynote speech.

Germany "will remain one of the biggest troop contributors to international peacekeeping missions in the foreseeable future."

Reiterating one of the main grounds for the reforms, he said the military, traditionally based on Cold War-era thinking, needed restructuring to make it better able to respond to modern threats such as terrorism.

At the heart of the reforms is a planned reduction of 35,000 troops in the army's manpower to 250,000 by 2010, but with a core element capable of rapid deployment abroad.

"The army has become an important ambassador for Germany," Struck went on, pointing to its heavy commitments in Afghanistan and the Balkans. "The army is Germany's biggest peace movement."

However the length of foreign deployments would be reduced from six months to four months except in special circumstances, he added.

Earlier this year, Struck announced a sweeping reform of the armed forces that foresees 26 billion euros (32 billion dollars) in military spending cuts in the coming years.

German defence spending this year is a little more than 24 billion euros, corresponding to 1.4 percent of gross domestic product -- a figure the United States has complained is too low.

The reforms are meant to focus on anti-terror operations, nation-building and conflict prevention. Struck insisted the army would also be available to help within Germany, such as in dealing with disasters.

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