German Defense Ministry plans to restore compulsory military registration for young men
Kyiv • UNN
Germany plans to reintroduce compulsory military registration for young men, proposing to resume filling out questionnaires on the ability and willingness to serve as a step toward potentially reintroducing compulsory military service to increase the size of its army.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has announced plans to restore the system for selecting young people suitable for military service, which was suspended 13 years ago. UNN writes about this with reference to BILD.
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The German Ministry of Defense wants to oblige all young men to fill out a special questionnaire about their desire and ability to serve in the army.
Pistorius' proposal is the first step towards the possible reintroduction of compulsory military service in Germany. The new military service plan stipulates that all men and women with a German passport will receive an official letter from the Bundeswehr after reaching the age of 18 with an offer to consider basic military service for up to 17 months.
Women can, and men will be required to, fill out special online questionnaires from the Bundeswehr. They will need to provide information about family composition, training and physical fitness, and indicate their attitude to carrying weapons. Based on the information from the questionnaires (the ministry assumes that about 400,000 people will fill them out annually), the Bundeswehr will select 40,000 candidates to be called up for military service.
The goal of the Bundeswehr is to recruit five to seven thousand new conscripts starting in 2025. Borys Pistorius believes that, taking into account conscripts who will undergo basic military training, the army's size could increase to 460,000 people (200
The goal of the Bundeswehr is to recruit five to seven thousand new conscripts starting in 2025. Boris Pistorius believes that, taking into account conscripts who will undergo basic military training, the army's strength could increase to 460,000 people (200,000 of them are active duty, the rest are reservists).
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Last year, the number of Bundeswehr soldiers was reduced to 181,000. The German Ministry of Defense is considering the possibility of introducing conscription, in particular because of the russian invasion of Ukraine. Pistorius has repeatedly stated that Germany must be ready for war and, together with its NATO allies, act as a reliable deterrent.