JAKARTA - German Defense Minister Boris Pistorus submitted a proposal to conduct a selective military service focused on volunteers to increase his armed forces, following widespread rejection of his return to military service.
The proposal is part of Germany's transition to stronger foreign and defense policies, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced as "Zeitenwende" or "change of era" after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
About 13 years after Germany suspended mass military service, Defense Minister Boris Pistorus said all men would be required to fill out a questionnaire to measure their suitability and interest in military service after the age of 18. This questionnaire is optional for women.
Reported by Reuters on Wednesday, June 12, the government will then select about 10 percent of those to collect before narrowing the options to the most suitable and motivated to perform basic six months of service with the option of extending it to 17 months.
"Those who are most suitable and motivated must be selected for military service," Pistorius told reporters.
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The new model aims to increase the number of young people undergoing voluntary military service to 15,000 people, or an increase of 5,000 people in the first year, the ministry said, and that number continues to increase from year to year.
The goal is to add 200,000 reserve troops, which will allow Germany to quickly increase its troop number to around 460,000 in the event of a war nearly double the number they can currently collect.
Currently Germany has 180,000 troops, which want to be increased to 203,000, and 60,000 reserve troops.
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