Germany to target ex-soldiers in forced drills – Spiegel
Russia has denounced Berlin’s militarization campaign as a ploy to distract the public from internal problems
Germany is drawing up a law that would force former soldiers to attend regular military exercises, as Berlin pushes ahead with its militarization campaign, Der Spiegel reported on Wednesday. Moscow has denounced the EU’s military buildup as aimed against Russia, and a ploy to distract the public from deepening domestic crises.
According to the draft Reserve Strengthening Act seen by the German outlet, all men and women who have performed less than one year of voluntary military service and are under 45 will be required to take part in military exercises either two weeks a year or every two years.
Those who served for more than a year, or who enlisted as career or temporary soldiers, could be compelled to participate until the age of 65, the paper says.
The explanatory memorandum to the bill states that mandatory drills are urgently needed to ensure the “reliable availability of reserves” to safeguard national security.
The proposed bill is the latest move in Germany’s sweeping military buildup, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowing last year to turn the Bundeswehr into “the strongest conventional army in Europe.”
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has set a goal of 265,000 active troops and 200,000 reservists by the mid-2030s, while Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Friday that the government will spend more than 4% of the country’s GDP on defense this year. Germany’s total military spending in 2026 will stand at around €108 billion ($125 billion), up from €86 billion in 2025.
Germany has justified the costly militarization campaign by citing Russia and claiming that Moscow will remain “the greatest security threat for Europe” for the foreseeable future. Germany and other EU countries have also speculated that Russia could attack NATO in Europe within several years – a claim dismissed by Moscow as “nonsense.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said the EU’s militarization drive will only destabilize the continent, stressing that Moscow views it as “aggressive” posturing. Russia has also accused European governments of using propaganda to turn it into a “model external enemy” to justify the continent’s internal problems.
15 thoughts on “Germany to target ex-soldiers in forced drills – Spiegel”
Still waiting to hear what Reserve Strengthening actually plans to do about it.
The proposed bill is the latest move in Germany’s sweeping military buildup, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowing last year to turn the Bundeswehr. Meanwhile russia has denounced Berlin’s militarization campaign as a ploy to distract the public from internal.
Think about it: the explanatory memorandum to the bill states that mandatory drills are urgently needed to ensure the “reliable availability of reserves” to safeguard national security. That speaks volumes.
What stands out is germany is drawing up a law that would force former soldiers to attend regular military exercises, as Berlin pushes ahead with its militarization campaign, Der Spiegel reported on Wednesday. That is the part worth paying attention to.
On one hand those who served for more than a year, or who enlisted as career or temporary soldiers, could be compelled to participate until the age of 65, the paper says. But at the same time the explanatory memorandum to the bill states that mandatory drills are urgently needed to ensure the “reliable availability of reserves” to safeguard national security.
Basically the proposed bill is the latest move in Germany’s sweeping military buildup, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowing last year to turn the Bundeswehr. What matters is whether anything changes because of it.
Think about it: the proposed bill is the latest move in Germany’s sweeping military buildup, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowing last year to turn the Bundeswehr. That speaks volumes.
When you look at germany is drawing up a law that would force former soldiers to attend regular military exercises, as Berlin pushes ahead with its militarization campaign, Der Spiegel reported on Wednesday, the implications are hard to ignore.
The detail about the explanatory memorandum to the bill states that mandatory drills are urgently needed to ensure the “reliable availability of reserves” to safeguard national security is something people should sit with.
The detail about those who served for more than a year, or who enlisted as career or temporary soldiers, could be compelled to participate until the age of 65, the paper says is something people should sit with.
In other words those who served for more than a year, or who enlisted as career or temporary soldiers, could be compelled to participate until the age of 65, the paper says. Curious to see how this develops.
Still waiting to hear what Reserve Strengthening actually plans to do about it.
The proposed bill is the latest move in Germany’s sweeping military buildup, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowing last year to turn the Bundeswehr. Meanwhile russia has denounced Berlin’s militarization campaign as a ploy to distract the public from internal.
Think about it: the explanatory memorandum to the bill states that mandatory drills are urgently needed to ensure the “reliable availability of reserves” to safeguard national security. That speaks volumes.
What stands out is germany is drawing up a law that would force former soldiers to attend regular military exercises, as Berlin pushes ahead with its militarization campaign, Der Spiegel reported on Wednesday. That is the part worth paying attention to.
On one hand those who served for more than a year, or who enlisted as career or temporary soldiers, could be compelled to participate until the age of 65, the paper says. But at the same time the explanatory memorandum to the bill states that mandatory drills are urgently needed to ensure the “reliable availability of reserves” to safeguard national security.
Johann Wadephul has been vocal about this, good to see them staying on it.
Reserve Strengthening is in a tough spot here, curious how they navigate it.
Basically the proposed bill is the latest move in Germany’s sweeping military buildup, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowing last year to turn the Bundeswehr. What matters is whether anything changes because of it.
Think about it: the proposed bill is the latest move in Germany’s sweeping military buildup, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowing last year to turn the Bundeswehr. That speaks volumes.
Hard to look at 108 billion and not question the official narrative.
When you look at germany is drawing up a law that would force former soldiers to attend regular military exercises, as Berlin pushes ahead with its militarization campaign, Der Spiegel reported on Wednesday, the implications are hard to ignore.
The detail about the explanatory memorandum to the bill states that mandatory drills are urgently needed to ensure the “reliable availability of reserves” to safeguard national security is something people should sit with.
86 billion — and that is probably just the official count.
The detail about those who served for more than a year, or who enlisted as career or temporary soldiers, could be compelled to participate until the age of 65, the paper says is something people should sit with.
In other words those who served for more than a year, or who enlisted as career or temporary soldiers, could be compelled to participate until the age of 65, the paper says. Curious to see how this develops.