German frigate Bayern manoeuvres related to Operation Active Endeavour. "Bayern" deployed once more, on 26 January 2015, to join Operation Atalanta, remaining on station until returning to her home port on 3 July 2015. She returned to Operation Atalanta on 23 March, serving as the flagship of Flotilla Admiral Jan Christian Kaack. This deployment lasted for five months, "Bayern" sailing some 32,000 nautical miles, before returning home on 8 August 2016. On 7 March 2018, "Bayern" sailed from Wilhelmshaven to rejoin Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 in the Aegean Sea, replacing the replenishment ship "Frankfurt am Main". "Bayern" is expected to complete this
Germany–Kurdistan Region relations the Kurds of Iraq established a mission in Berlin, establishing direct contacts with the German government. Furthermore, the mission had to coordinate humanitarian and development aid from Germany to the Kurdish region, and informed the German public and media about the general situation in Kurdistan. To combat Islamic State's advance into Northern parts of Iraq, the German government decided to aid the Kurdish soldiers (Peshmerga) militarily. Steinmeier stated that: "We cannot on the one hand praise the Kurdish security forces, pat them on the back for fighting ISIS on behalf of all of us, then when they ask for help