Military: Pistorius: Conscription would not help the Bundeswehr for the time being

Military
Pistorius: Conscription would not help the Bundeswehr for the time being

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius does not see the reintroduction of conscription as a solution to personnel concerns in the Bundeswehr in the next few years. 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,” said the SPD politician at the Bundeswehr Day in Bückeburg, Lower Saxony. But the number of people who would have to be recruited for the Bundeswehr is large.

Despite the worries about young talent, Pistorius relies on voluntary recruitment. When asked about the Swedish model of reintroducing conscription with mandatory examination, he told the news portal t-online: “We don’t need an examination to get young people excited about the Bundeswehr. Incidentally, the effort involved seems very large to me.”

In his own words, Pistorius wants to offer more opportunities in the future 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 period of 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,” said Pistorius.

Pistorius also considers other models of voluntary recruitment of young people worth discussing. For him, this also includes accepting EU citizens into the German army, as France and Spain are already doing. Pistorius also does not rule out the possibility of children born in Germany of migrants without a German passport being accepted into the Bundeswehr. He said: “In principle, it is also conceivable for me that someone without a German passport could join the Bundeswehr.” However, he refuses to combine this with the prospect of citizenship.

dpa