Our Expectations for Military Service.” The proposal, which has been reported by the news portal T-Online, explicitly rejects the plans of the Federal Minister of Defence, Boris Pistorius, to introduce a compulsory military service option in the revised Military Service Act.
According to the proposal, the Jusos are in open confrontation with the Defence Minister, stating that “demands for the compulsory enlistment of young people for military service or the reintroduction of conscription are rejected. In the planned Military Service Act, therefore, we must work on voluntariness, not coercion. Coercion is no response to the structural problems of the German Armed Forces.”
Pistorius had recently mentioned in an interview on the show “Caren Miosga” that he intends to include a compulsory military service option in the new Military Service Act. Although the law initially relies on voluntariness, a mechanism would be triggered if not enough volunteers join the German Armed Forces, forcing people to enlist, the Minister explained. The Jusos now strongly object to this provision, stating that “an automatic mechanism in the law that anchors compulsory military service or a forced military service is also rejected.”
Juso leader Philipp Türmer expressed his disappointment with Pistorius’ plans, saying that the Defence Minister had previously shown a willingness to address the real problems of the German Armed Forces, as the number of interested individuals in the military has recently increased. Türmer questioned the sudden change in direction, stating that the coalition agreement had deliberately focused on an attractive military service based on voluntariness.
The Juso leader also emphasized that the Wehrpflicht, or compulsory military service, would excessively intrude into the lives of young people, with uncertain benefits and is a relic of the past. He added that the Wehrpflicht is not a solution for the problems of the future and that the SPD should reaffirm its rejecting stance on the issue at the upcoming party convention.