The German military is training 32 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in Bavaria, Germany, until October 3, in an effort to combat Islamic State. Germany is training the Kurdish forces to use milan anti-tank missiles, and it will send approximately 40 paratroopers to help train forces in northern Iraq.

Though Germany will not send troops to fight in the area, it will continue to support the Kurds in their fight against Islamic State. In early September, Germany sent the fighters 4,000 vests and 4,000 helmets, along with radios and night vision telescopes. On September 25, Germany sent 520 G3 rifles and 20 machine guns. In total, Germany will send 16,000 assault rifles with 6 million rounds of ammunition, 8,000 pistols, anti-tank weapons, rocket launchers and other military gear.

The equipment, which will arm 10,000 Kurdish fighters, totals just over $90 million.

As the world’s number three arms exporter, it is common for Germany to supply other nations with military hardware. Two big customers are Israel and Saudi Arabia, both living in the world’s powder keg. Germany has also sent hardware to Algeria, U.A.E. and Qatar.

What makes the September shipments to Peshmerga forces and the Kurdish Worker’s Party located in Iraq unique, is that it marks the first time Germany has sent weapons to a non-state entity.

An August 15 poll by Germany’s Forsa Institute shows that 63 percent of Germans oppose the military aid to the Iraqi Kurds.

In September, Germany also agreed to send troops to Senegal to fight Ebola. The Trumpet brought out, “As an event on its own, this use of the German military is a positive development. But it is also part of the trend where German leaders are trying to persuade the public to support a greater use of the military.”

Germany’s leaders are pushing for a greater role in the world. Sending military hardware to Kurdish Peshmerga forces after deploying troops to Senegal begs the question: Where will this lead? To learn more about this trend, read Trumpet columnist Brad Macdonald’s article “Germany’s Identity Crisis.”