The Bundeswehr plans to send questionnaires to around 650,000 young people starting mid-January to assess their suitability for voluntary military service. The service remains voluntary, but men must complete the questionnaire while women can do so optionally. The law modernizing military service was recently approved by the Bundesrat.
Starting mid-January, young people in Germany who have just turned 18 will receive letters from the Bundeswehr containing a questionnaire about the new military service. The Defense Ministry in Berlin announced that approximately 650,000 individuals per birth year will be contacted, equating to about 54,000 letters per month. The questionnaire includes twelve questions on gender, health, fitness, education levels, driver's license, and willingness to serve, and can be completed via QR code on a smartphone. It applies from the 2008 birth year onward.
Men are required to fill it out; failure to do so constitutes a misdemeanor punishable by a fine. Women may respond voluntarily. The aim is to gain a comprehensive overview of youth readiness and rebuild conscription monitoring. In the future, 24 muster centers and eight career centers are planned.
The law modernizing military service has been passed by the Bundestag and now the Bundesrat. It addresses the changed security situation and seeks to increase troop strength from the current 184,000 to 255,000 to 270,000 active soldiers by 2035, supplemented by 200,000 reservists. Thousands of students recently protested nationwide against the initiative, supported by parents and teachers.
Women currently make up just under 14 percent of the Bundeswehr, with around 25,000 volunteers who choose service despite facing discrimination.