German Defense Minister’s Deputy Calls for Mandatory Military Service Component
In a recent interview, Norbert Röttgen, the Deputy Chairman of the CDU’s parliamentary group in the German Bundestag, emphasized the need for a mandatory component in the country’s new military service model. Röttgen, a prominent figure in the German government, expressed his concerns that the current voluntary-based approach might not be sufficient to meet the country’s security needs in the long run.
According to Röttgen, the coalition government is working on creating a qualified and attractive military service model, initially relying on voluntary enlistment. However, he also stressed the importance of having a plan B, which would involve a mandatory element, in case the voluntary approach falls short. Röttgen pointed out that the financial groundwork for the military’s growth has already been laid with the abolition of the debt brake for defense spending.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius of the SPD previously stated that Germany would need to mobilize up to 60,000 additional soldiers to meet the new NATO planning targets. This raised the question of whether the new military service model would be sufficient for the next few years. Röttgen’s call for a mandatory component in the military service model reflects the growing concerns about the country’s military preparedness in the face of evolving security challenges.