German armed forces see 28% surge in recruits in NATO defence boost – Germany’s armed forces reported a 28% surge in soldier recruits from January to late July, compared with the same period last year, bolstering plans to boost NATO defences in response to what it sees as an increased threat from Russia.
The Defence Ministry said on Thursday more than 13,700 people had joined the Bundeswehr – the army, air force, navy and other forces – in that period, in what it said was the steepest rise for years.
Prepared to defend: Why older Germans are opting for military service – Thomas Hüser did not serve his country in uniform and with a weapon in the early 1990s, but instead opted to work for a year as a care assistant for the elderly – as was his right under Germany’s laws on alternative military service.
However, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the 54-year-old had a major rethink on his earlier moral stance on taking up arms.
“In the face of global threats, serving in the armed forces is a question of solidarity. Only a strong military can protect us,” said Hüser, a communications expert and manager who runs a zinc smelter in the northern German state of Lower Saxony.
‘Crazy’ data rules hit German plans to boost army reserve – Reservists’ association says Berlin has lost contact with almost a million potential reservists.
Strict data protection laws are hindering Germany’s efforts to swell the ranks of the armed forces of Europe’s largest nation, its reservists’ association has warned.
Patrick Sensburg, head of the Reservist Association of the German Armed Forces, said tough German and EU privacy rules meant it could not keep in contact with close to a million people who might help boost the country’s reserve forces as it seeks a stronger role in European defence and security…
Sensburg, a former member of parliament from Merz’s ruling Christian Democrats, added that while some might be unwell or uninterested, if even only a quarter of the 1mn agreed to serve it would be enough to meet the target for reservist numbers.
He said it was absurd that the body responsible for collecting Germany’s annual television fee could contact citizens a few weeks after they had moved house, while he had no way of tracking down people whose names were in the association’s records.
Version 9 as in nein as in it ain’t never gonna happen.
Aiming to strengthen the Bundeswehr to match the size and punch of a medium-sized American city’s police force…
Germany’s Merz vows to build Europe’s strongest army – “Our friends and partners also expect this from us, and what’s more, they are actually demanding it,” said the new chancellor.
German poll shows approval for more defense spending as NATO steels itself for Trump 2.0 – A majority of Germans support significant defense spending increases, an outlook that coincides with the imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House and an anticipated pressure campaign on allied militaries to step up, a new public opinion survey found.
In September, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius proposed pushing the amount of spending dedicated to the military from 2% of gross domestic product to between 3 and 3.5%.
In a new poll released Monday by the Koerber-Stiftung Institute, 50% of respondents supported Pistorius’ idea, while a further 15% said even more should be spent on German defense.
Germany is thinking about bringing back conscription – But the chancellor is reluctant.
“Kriegstüchtig” does not trip easily off the English tongue. Nor does it fall easily on German ears. Translated roughly as “war-ready”, it is a word deployed by Boris Pistorius, the defence minister, to describe his favoured destination for the long under-resourced Bundeswehr, or armed forces. Money is now pouring in, and Mr Pistorius is overhauling the Bundeswehr’s structures. But like many of its nato allies, Germany is struggling to find enough willing recruits. The minister is among many who want Germany to consider restoring conscription, suspended since 2011, to get the numbers up.
But only if nothing unforeseen happens. Like war, or something.
German defense minister calls for war readiness by 2029 – Germany’s Boris Pistorius has said the country needs to prepare for a worst-case scenario regarding the specter of war in Europe. He also said a return to some form of military conscription would likely be necessary.
Damn. Dodging responsibility is more stressful than I imagined.
German army officer jailed for spying for Russia – A German military officer has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for spying for Russia.
The man, identified only as Thomas H, had been a captain in the army’s procurement office when he contacted Russian embassy in Berlin and passed on secret military information…
The man claimed that chronic overwork had impaired his ability to think critically about his actions.
Germany’s defense minister overhauls the military command as he seeks ‘war-capable’ armed forces – Germany’s defense minister has announced a plan to streamline and reorganize the country’s military command as part of efforts to make the armed forces of NATO’s most populous European member “war-capable.”
Observing Hermann 