The German army (Bundeswehr) has long been suffering from a lack of resources and funding, but the outbreak of the war in Ukraine prompted Chancellor Olaf Scholz to pledge to boost military spending.
Why does the German army find it difficult to recruit new members?
• German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, speaking during a visit to a recruitment center of the armed forces in Stuttgart, acknowledged that there is a major challenge represented in recruiting the next generation of soldiers.
• Pistorius told reporters: “Everyone is talking about a shortage in the number of the Bundeswehr’s personnel, and no one knows that better than me.”
• The German minister added: “We have seven percent fewer requests this year compared to the same period last year.”
• During the training period in the army, the rate of withdrawal reaches 30 percent, according to Pistorius.
• Problems in the German army were exposed last March when a senior deputy said that the army “has a little bit of everything” and that the barracks are in a deplorable state.
• Some of the soldiers’ sleeping quarters lacked Wi-Fi and even functioning toilets, according to the German parliamentary commissioner, Eva Hoegel, who is in charge of auditing the army.
• Berlin’s efforts to modernize the army center on a special fund of 100 billion euros, but Hogel said that none of that amount was spent in 2022 amid slow bureaucratic decision-making procedures.
• When it came to conscription, Pistorius said the younger generation expressed concerns about achieving a work-life balance more than in the past, which was more difficult to achieve with a job in the military.
• Population aging, which leads to labor shortages in many sectors, makes military recruitment particularly difficult, as by 2050 the number of citizens in the 14-25 age group will be 12 percent less, according to Pistorius.
• The (Bundeswehr) currently aims to increase the number of soldiers to 203,000 by 2031, compared to 18,000 now, noting that Pistorius confirmed that this number is being reviewed.
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