Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) relies on voluntary recruiting of new soldiers, despite concerns about recruiting new soldiers in the Bundeswehr. In the future, he wants to offer more opportunities to get a taste of the Bundeswehr for a short time.
“Young women and men could take part in everyday troop life for a certain time, almost like an internship, getting to know the processes and different areas. In this way, we could arouse the interest of young people in a commitment,” Pistorius told the news portal t-online. It will be examined under what conditions something like this could be possible.
Pistorius also considers other models of voluntary recruitment of young people worth discussing. For him, this includes accepting EU citizens into the German army, as France and Spain are already doing. The minister does not rule out the acceptance of children of migrants born in Germany who do not have a German passport. “In principle, I can also imagine that someone without a German passport could join the Bundeswehr.” However, he refuses to combine this with the prospect of citizenship.
For Pistorius, a reintroduction of conscription with mandatory medical examinations is not a solution to personnel worries. Compulsory military service would not help quickly enough, especially since it would tie up strength, time and money, “all three of which we don’t have right now,” he said at the Bundeswehr Day in Bückeburg, Lower Saxony.