Comment: Bundeswehr must become more attractive

The report by the military commissioner shows: There are still major deficiencies in the Bundeswehr. This needs to be remedied instead of leading a smokescreen debate about reintroducing compulsory military service.

The Bundeswehr’s biggest problem remains: it needs to be brought into shape. Because it is aging and shrinking: there are 20,000 unfilled positions, a dropout rate of more than 20 percent and too few women.

But with still over 181,000 soldiers, the army has far more pressing problems than reintroducing compulsory military service or even compulsory military service. Because the troops still have too few tanks, too few spare parts and too little ammunition.

Solve fundamental problems

In the barracks the toilets are blocked and the showers are moldy. The investment backlog in infrastructure alone is 50 billion euros. In addition, hardly any of the debt-financed 100 billion special fund has reached the troops.

The military commissioner complains that she still doesn’t have enough of everything. The Bundeswehr is not fully operational. Germany will only achieve NATO’s two percent target through trickery and when the special fund is spent in 2028, there will be a billion-dollar hole in the defense budget that no one wants to fill yet. This fundamental problem must first be solved.

Make the Bundeswehr more attractive

Reinstating compulsory military service, on the other hand, would require changes to the Basic Law, would cost billions more and take years. A calculation example: If only ten percent of the men in a year were drafted, you would need accommodation, uniforms, boots, helmets, protective vests, rifles, trainers and much more for 40,000 recruits every year.

A lot has been dismantled since compulsory military service was suspended in 2011. It was an austerity measure, says a veteran general who was there at the time. Perhaps the Bundeswehr should first be brought into shape and thus made more attractive, instead of having a months-long smokescreen debate about reintroducing compulsory military service and not taking care of the really important tasks for the troops.