‘Times have changed’: Germany’s military seeks recruits as it confronts new era | Germany

S.Sitting in the cramped interior of the Panzerhaubitze 2000 armored vehicle, 20-year-old Tom breathlessly explains to students the workings of “the world’s most modern tank” while listening intently to every word from Achim, a German army officer.

“What damage would you expect its ammo to do?” Tom asks.

“A standard bullet has a range of 30 km and anything within a 100 meter radius of that will be a direct hit,” Achim replies. The students give each other confused looks.

They spend a day at the Essen Motor Show in West Germany; here the Bundeswehr or German army is among the many participants; They are showcasing their products, including ATVs, an armored weapons carrier, VR vision equipment and a khaki Porsche sports car, and hope to convince audiences of all ages, the majority of whom are male, of their advantages as an employer.

The Bundeswehr is embarking on a recruitment drive on a scale not seen in decades. According to experts, the size of the professional army should increase by about 80,000 members to 260,000 over the next 10 years, and reservists should increase by 140,000 to 200,000 over a similar time period.

It is thought that intensive public outreach efforts are necessary. It aims to convince a population that has defined itself with pacifism for decades due to the wounds of the Nazi era, that the army’s role is primarily to defend Europe’s largest economy and that soldiers are citizens in uniform, not warmongers.

From January 1, young men who turn 18 will be required to fill out a questionnaire assessing their suitability for armed service, and in about two years they will be expected to pass a mandatory health test for authorities to register who could potentially be available should they need to fight in a full-scale war.

Salaries in the army will be increased to attract more volunteers, while soldiers will be given language courses, subsidized driving licences, free second-class train travel (if they are in uniform) and the opportunity to gain new qualifications.

The auto show is just one of the many places the Bundeswehr chooses to recruit these days. It sets up career gyms across the country in places from gyms to equestrian events, supermarket yards to truck stops, and also hosts its own “scout days” and women-focused “girls days” at barracks and training grounds.

Outside the confines of the armored vehicle, Tom, a trainee car mechanic at a vocational school in Aachen, says he needs little convincing about the benefits of a career in the German army. “I’m in the final stages of my apprenticeship and have made plans to join the paratroopers so I can defend my country,” he says.

Luca, a 21-year-old IT specialist from near Koblenz who admires the army’s racing car, says he has a hard time understanding why Germany suspended its conscription model in 2011, the year he started school. The political justification given was that it was no longer needed since the cold war ended. But at least since Vladimir Putin’s full-scale attack on Ukraine in 2022, “it’s very clear how much we need this. It was a very shortsighted thing,” he says. The abolition of conscription also eliminated the recruitment infrastructure. Rebuilding proved costly and time-consuming, everyone involved agrees.

He says Luca is in favor of a mandatory year of service for everyone. He adds that he “will be ready to defend Germany” but “will not go abroad to attack a foreign country.”

A growing number of young men are actively applying to declare their conscientious objection to military service in advance in the event of the reintroduction of compulsory military service. “I personally wouldn’t go that far,” says Luca. “I don’t know how to justify it. I also think you can’t force anyone to serve in the military.”

Lift fitters Jennifer and Matthias Schleicher from Erkelenz watch their five-year-old son Erik climb onto the four-wheel drive all-terrain quadricycle. “Now is the time to strengthen our military,” says Jennifer, referring in part to the billions of euros in military funds released by the previous government, with billions more to come after Germany pledged this summer to increase defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2029. “We spend too much money on other people’s defense systems while ignoring our own. It is right and proper to adjust this and become combat-ready ourselves,” he says.

He and his wife, like more than 50 percent of Germans, are in favor of the conscription model, while 63 percent of young people are against it. “As times have changed, views on this subject have also changed,” he says. But what if his son Erik is called to fight? “As a mother, of course it’s difficult, but if it becomes necessary, I can’t leave her out of this. The same rules should apply to everyone.”

Specially trained on-site recruiters are here to answer any questions. Among them, Marco, who inspected the Bundeswehr stand, says that the Essen Motor Show enabled the Bundeswehr to reach more than 200,000 visitors in 10 days. He says interest has grown exponentially since they were first exhibited there in 2007.

“Back then, people were asking: ‘Why are you here?’” he says. “Now that the security situation has changed, people tend to contact us and say, ‘Thank you for your service.'”

Tank operator Achim joined in 2006, just short of his 18th birthday. muttizetel [mother’s note]” he says, jokingly using the colloquial term for a written statement of parental consent.

Having completed tours in Norway, Lebanon and France, he says he never had the ambition to join the war, “but to contribute to ensuring that we were deterrent enough that no one would entertain the idea of ​​attacking us and our democracy in the first place. I strongly believe that this has helped maintain peace for over 70 years.”