At the end of October, the Bundeswehr said it counted 181,383 soldiers in its ranks — that’s still some distance from the target of 203,000 that the German military hopes to reach by 2025. This has given rise to concern in times of Russia’s war against Ukraine, which has once again reminded Germans how quickly conflicts can erupt in Europe.
Since taking office at the beginning of 2023, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has been thinking about ways to make the Bundeswehr more attractive as a career. He said he has received 65 concrete proposals from his ministry on recruitment and reforming training methods.
I would think it’s “of the 65 proposals, at least one includes conscription as part of its plan”.
Meaning, two things:
I think the submitted proposals are likely multifaceted, and conscription is but one potential facet
I bet more than one proposal also employs conscription
I wonder if any reports will ever be publicly published about these proposals.