Military service remains voluntaryWith this law, Germany is taking a risk
An agreement on new military service has been reached. Good to start with. However, if the number of volunteers is insufficient, the debate starts again. This posed a greater risk than Germany could afford.
They were eager to get the boy. The Military Service Law, which is intended to regulate the conditions under which the younger generation in Germany can voluntarily join the Bundeswehr from 2026, has some good ideas. What do your relatives ask you on your 18th birthday? “Well, have you gotten your driver’s license?” During future military service, soldiers can get a driver’s license for a car or truck with financial subsidies after one year of commitment.
This is very pragmatic and real, as is the decision to pay 2,600 euros gross for future voluntary military service. If you want to explore the world for the first time at age 18, instead of getting the necessary travel budget from a bratwurst joint, you might as well go to the federal government — and serve the public, too.
No mold and new socks
In addition, bathroom mold in barracks must also go, and there is also a new sock item in the 2025 budget. If, instead of the stuffy district military replacement offices of the past, collections were done in bright rooms by friendly staff, that would be half the battle.
Much is happening in the Bundeswehr, and the government coalition has reason to hope that, thanks to the realignment of the military services, many volunteers will become enthusiastic about the future federal government. But that might still not be enough. Why is the danger so real?
Since 2018, the Bundeswehr has been trying to increase the number of troops from around 183,000 troops to 203,000 troops. In addition, bureaucracy has been reduced, entry has become easier, advertisements have been posted – with all these measures, the number of armed forces has reached 184,000 this year. An increase of 1000 troops in seven years.
This is because around 20,000 armed forces stop serving every year. This gap must be filled with new things before you can enter the darkness.
But NATO has now adjusted its defense plans to the increasing threat from Russia, and since then the new growth target is no longer 203,000, but 260,000. Many experts still see this value as the lowest value of what is necessary.
There is a big risk that it will not be enough
As optimistic as Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is, he emphasized the voluntary nature of the new military service law before the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag. The danger that not enough troops would assemble voluntarily – simply because so many troops were needed – was enormous.
This is where the weakness of this law actually lies. Because, his party sets a target number that must be achieved every year. Once every six months, Pistorius’ house is supposed to display the latest recruitment figures in the Bundestag and also the extent of their deviation from the set target figures. But if the troops do not grow according to the needs and immediate requirements, and this happens two or three years in a row – then what happens?
“Then I say, I have to talk to you” – was Pistorius’s blunt reply, and by “you” he meant Parliament. “Then there is a clear provision in the law that the Bundestag “has to handle it in a completely new way,” as SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch said.
In short, this means: If the “voluntary military service” model doesn’t work and as a result you are already behind in terms of much-needed growth, then the political debate will start all over again.
Do we want to close the gaping gap with a lottery? Or, as many military officials are demanding, should we have a conscription called the Sverige model, which would allow us to recruit people with the skills we need today. If the IT department in the police is short of staff, then IT enthusiasts will be hired. If there is a shortage of drone pilots, look for talent in the relevant year groups. These decisions are less fair than decisions made by lottery, but are much more effective in terms of the interests of the troops.
The switch lever is missing
Many defense experts called for automatism to be enshrined in the new law: We will try it on a voluntary basis. But if that’s not enough, the system automatically switches to commitment. So that the gap can be closed as quickly as possible.
This automatic switch lever does not come. On the contrary, the whole debate, which has been tumultuous, begins in a completely new way and perhaps in a new setting: Who knows what the situation will be for the majority in the next three or four years? Do black and red still reign supreme? What has Russia absorbed by then? To what extent is the Internet then permeated by hostile and disinformation campaigns?
In several surveys, a majority of Germans currently support reintroducing general military conscription. A convenient situation for a government that only needs to impose conscription in emergencies. Such a decision would likely have the support of a broad majority.
However, this is not the case now as the left wing of the SPD cannot be convinced, but also does not want to be ignored, as they find it difficult to make any commitment to the troops. There must be results, everything must be started. The motives are understandable, but in difficult times, abandoning automatism carries high risks. After all, you are losing time that you don’t really have. And perhaps in the next three years the debate will reach an impasse as it has in recent weeks and will not produce an agreement. Maybe society will view the question differently. This is a risk that no one can assess at this time. The Black and Red failed to eliminate them with this law.
