Captain (German Navy) Matthias M. Potthoff is a native of Freiburg, Black Forest, Germany. He was commissioned in 1987 and is a 1992 graduate from the German armed forces university with a master of science in Electrical Engineering. Originally commissioned as an air force officer he joined the navy in 1992.

From 1992 to 1997 he qualified as a technical officer for the ship helicopters SEA LYNX Mk88 at the Naval Air Wing in Nordholz and had several deployments on F122 and F123 frigates. After his duty as a Program Officer for the midlife update project SEA LYNX Mk88 A in the former Air Force Weapon Systems Command in Cologne, he once again served in the Naval Air Wing as squadron leader and became the deputy commander of the technical group in 2001, operation of MPA, helicopters and pollution control aircraft.

From 2002-2004 he took part in the National Admiral Staff Course at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg.

As a staff officer he served as desk officer to the German Military Representative NATO and EU to the NATO Military Committee in Brussels, later as desk officer capabilities in the German Federal Ministry of Defence and personal assisting staff officer to the deputy Chief of Navy and Chief of Staff in Bonn and Rostock.

His assignments as a Captain included Branch Head Naval Helicopters in the Federal Office of the German Procurement Agency (Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support) in Koblenz, as Commanding Officer of the Naval Air Command in Nordholz and as Branch Head for Capabilities Development Naval, Air and Space Effects to the Planning Division of the Federal Ministry of Defense in Bonn.

He assumed his duties as Commanding Officer German Naval Support Command on October 1st, 2023 (OF-6 Level).

Captain Potthoff’s operational assignments included several naval and multinational naval training missions e.g. Partnership for Peace in the Black Sea, Yugoslavia Embargo, Standing Naval Forces Mediterranean and Atlantic as well as JMC and several British/German Operational Sea Trainings. In 2008 he commanded the German Task Group 150 to the NATO Operation Enduring Freedom and the German Detachment to the European Operation ATALANTA, including MPA and frigates as well as the support group in Djibouti.

He is married since almost 30 years, he’s got two adult sons.