"At the beginning of the year, German men aged 18 began to receive a compulsory questionnaire registering their fitness for army service under a law passed last month. Joining the army is voluntary for now, but the law allows the government to introduce mandatory service to meet its goal of building what it says will be the strongest army in Europe for the first time since World War II."
"Last November, active duty personnel stood at 184,000 troops, a jump of 2,500 since May, when Chancellor Friedrich Merz first told the parliament that the army, or Bundeswehr, needs to become Europe's strongest conventional army. It's the biggest they've had for a very long time, and it's already the strongest force we've had since 2021, Timo Graf, a senior researcher at the Bundeswehr Centre of Military History and Social Sciences in Potsdam, told Al Jazeera."
Germany is expanding its military capacity and pursuing an EU nuclear deterrent to reduce US hegemony and counter Russian influence. A new law requires 18-year-old men to register fitness for service and permits the government to reinstate mandatory conscription if needed. Voluntary enlistment is currently incentivized with 23-month contracts, generous salaries and benefits convertible to permanent service. Pay amounts to €2,600 gross with free housing and medical care, yielding about €2,300 net. Germany pledged to reach 260,000 active personnel by 2035 and double reservists to 200,000, approaching Cold War-era strength. Moscow has expressed alarm at these developments.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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