Overview
- CSU leader Markus Söder said Germany must bring back compulsory military service and argued a volunteer model will not deliver the troop levels needed for national security.
- The current government is not seeking an immediate return to conscription and has opted to expand voluntary service under a new system that gathers data from young men through mandatory questionnaires and medical screening.
- Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has set a long-term plan to make the Bundeswehr the strongest conventional army in Europe by 2039 with at least 460,000 combat-ready personnel.
- The strategy also aims to grow the reserve from about 70,000 to 200,000 by 2035, which Söder wants fully equipped, raising cost and logistics questions for training, gear, and sustainment.
- Reserve officer Patrick Sensburg said the army has not tapped a large pool of former short-term soldiers and questioned how NATO-level training would be achieved and who would staff roles like homeland security, host-nation support, and field replacements.