On Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 4 p.m., the ceremonial handover of the regimental colors and flag ribbons to the frigates “Baden-Württemberg”, “North Rhine-Westphalia”, “Saxony-Anhalt” and “Rhineland-Palatinate” will take place on the town hall square in Wilhelmshaven.
In a dignified ceremony, the Commander of Operational Forces and Head of Operations at the Naval Command, Rear Admiral Jens Nemeyer, will hand over the regimental colors of the Baden-Württemberg class frigates to the Commander of the 4th Frigate Squadron, Commander Volker Kübsch.
The regimental colors symbolically transfer responsibility for leadership, mission, and military values to the four F125-class frigates. Upon their commissioning, the frigates operated under a multi-crew concept, where crews were not assigned to a single ship but to all four Baden-Württemberg-class frigates. This concept has since been modified, and the Inspector of the Navy, Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaack, has decided that these frigates are now authorized to fly a regimental colors as independent units at the battalion level.
A particular highlight of the event is the presentation of the flag ribbons and the guest speeches by representatives of the four partner states. These will be presented by State Secretary Thomas Blenke, Baden-Württemberg; State Secretary Dr. Dirk Günnewig, North Rhine-Westphalia; State Secretary Klaus Zimmermann, Saxony-Anhalt; and Carsten Göller, Rhineland-Palatinate.
With these flag ribbons, the countries reaffirm their close ties to the crews of their adopted ships. At the same time, they acknowledge the dedication and responsibility of the sailors.
The event will be accompanied musically by the Wilhelmshaven Naval Music Corps under the direction of Commander Matthias Prock.