Not with Gen Z.
At least not with ze ones in Germany.
German army struggles to get Gen Z recruits ‘ready for war.’
Bundeswehr has a high dropout rate and the number of conscientious objectors is rising.
World War Z?
Tag Archives: NATO
German of the day: Abzug
That means withdrawal.
Vance floats US troop withdrawal from Germany over free-speech concerns – The U.S. vice president links continued military support to Berlin’s speech policies.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Thursday night suggested that the Trump administration could reconsider its military presence in Germany, tying continued American defense commitments to Berlin’s stance on free speech.
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, Vance took direct aim at Germany’s handling of online speech restrictions, warning that the American public would not support funding the country’s defense while its government cracks down on political expression.
“Think about this,” Vance said. “Germany’s entire defense is subsidized by the American taxpayer. There are thousands upon thousands of American troops in Germany today. Do you think that the American taxpayer is going to stand for that if you get thrown in jail in Germany for posting a mean tweet? Of course, they’re not.”
Sabotage?
Really?
Germany suspects sabotage behind severed undersea cables – German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has said damage to two undersea cables in the Baltic Sea looks like an act of sabotage and a “hybrid action”, without knowing who is to blame.
A 1,170km (730-mile) telecommunications cable between Finland and Germany was severed in the early hours of Monday, while a 218km internet link between Lithuania and Sweden’s Gotland Island stopped working on Sunday.
The incidents came at a time of heightened tension with Russia and Pistorius said “nobody believes that these cables were cut accidentally”.
The Trump Effect
It’s more than just getting rid of your pronouns.
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.
What German troops?
Take your time, Lithuania.
You’ve got all the time in the world.
Lithuania begins construction of base for German troops near Russian border – Lithuania on Monday began construction of a military base, which will accommodate up to 4,000 combat-ready German troops once completed by the end of 2027, in the first permanent foreign deployment for the German military since World War Two.
Germany committed to deploy troops in the NATO and European Union member, which borders Russia, last year. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius compared the decision to the posting of allied forces in West Germany during the Cold War to defend Western Europe in case of a Soviet attack.
Booking “financing of transport infrastructure” as defense spending?
To “meet” their pledge of keeping defense spending at 2 percent of GDP?
Clever of the Germans. How refreshingly dishonest. And by that I mean openly dishonest.
Berlin wants to pump defense spending numbers by including military mobility – Germany wants to keep defense spending at 2 percent of GDP, but budget constraints make that difficult.
The cash-strapped German government is looking at how it can include the financing of transport infrastructure used by the military into its defense spending to meet NATO’s spending target.
The money…
She is all gone, señor.
Let’s see what Ukraine’s biggest, not second biggest military donor does next year.
Germany plans to halve military aid for Ukraine – Germany is planning to nearly halve military aid for Ukraine next year, from around €8bn (£6.7bn; $8.7bn) to around €4bn, according to a draft budget approved by the government.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Ukraine’s financing was “secure for the foreseeable future” due to a G7 group of rich nations scheme to raise $50bn from interest on frozen Russian assets.
Germany is Ukraine’s second biggest military donor, after the US. In 2024, Berlin’s budget for Kyiv is set at nearly €7.5bn.
German of the day: Aufrüstung
That means rearmament.
US to send Tomahawks, hypersonics, other long-range fires to Germany – The U.S. will start deploying long-range fires units to Germany in 2026, according to a joint statement from both the U.S. and German governments released today amid the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C.
The new capabilities will “have significantly longer range than current land-based fires in Europe. Exercising these advanced capabilities will demonstrate the United States’ commitment to NATO and its contributions to European integrated deterrence,” the joint statement reads.
But he’ll get over it
Real fast. It’s just how they roll here.
German defence minister deplores meagre military spending – Boris Pistorius’s criticism comes on eve of Nato summit in Washington.
German defence minister Boris Pistorius has criticised his government for approving less than a fifth of the budget increase he said was needed by Germany’s military, in stark remarks on the eve of a Nato summit in Washington.
We’ll be ready for war by 2129
I mean 2029, of course.
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.
Observing Hermann 