Recruiting more defence reservists

In the face of the massively increased threat situation in Europe due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Bundeswehr will be focused more closely on defending Germany and its allies. Germany must therefore reinforce its defence capacity for the long term.

The Federal Cabinet has adopted a draft law to modernise military recruitment rules. In addition to this, a new military voluntary service will be introduced. Lasting between 6 and 23 months, it will replace the current military voluntary service system. The introduction of the new military service system is designed to boost reservist numbers in the medium term.

Rebuilding data collection on military-age citizens

The suspension of compulsory military service in 2011 also saw the loss of structures to record information on military-age citizens. This means that there is no longer a comprehensive picture of birth cohorts which could be eligible for military voluntary service in future, or of these cohorts' willingness or ability to serve as reservists.

Under the plans, data collection would be limited to those who are eligible for military service and were born after 31 December 2006. Over the next few years, more birth years will be added to those which could be eligible for the new voluntary service, beginning with those born in 2007. Reactivating the system to monitor those eligible for military service, known as "Wehrüberwachung", is also necessary to understand potential reserves of older individuals who have served in the military in the past.

The process of gathering data on military-age citizens includes a questionnaire which all 18-year-old men are required to complete on their ability and willingness to undertake military voluntary service. It also includes questions on their education and other qualifications. In addition to this, women and persons of other genders can take part in the online survey voluntarily to register their interest.

Reserves vital to resilience

The ability to scale up military forces rapidly and comprehensively is of fundamental importance to enable Germany to defend itself and its allies against crises and conflicts over the long term. Putting these capacities in place in peacetime is a core element of deterrence and ultimately averts the need to conduct wars at all. A rapidly deployable reserve is vital to this.

The new military voluntary service does not affect any existing service status as a permanent member of the armed forces or regular service personnel.