Germany has unveiled the most sweeping military reforms since the cold war, including the possible revival of national service, as part of efforts to better prepare its armed forces to defend Nato territory.
Speaking in Berlin on Thursday on the military alliance’s 75th anniversary, defence minister Boris Pistorius said he had signed an order to reorganise the German military from top to bottom.
“It is a landmark reform . . . Our goal is to restructure the Bundeswehr in such a way that it is best positioned in the event of defence, in the event of war,” said Pistorius. “Nobody should have the idea of attacking Nato territory — this is what we [want to] convey.”
The measures are part of a huge shift in Germany’s attitude towards its armed forces, reflecting what Chancellor Olaf Scholz said was a Zeitenwende or turning point in security policy after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
A single operational command will take charge of four new component forces, with cyber warfare raised to an equal footing alongside land, air and sea operations.
Military officials drawing up the plans have been given six months to implement them. A key demand from the ministry is that the Bundeswehr will be made ready for compulsory national service in Germany, Pistorius said, should a decision be taken to reintroduce it. The country stopped its mandatory military service — as well as the option to serve in non-military institutions — in 2011.
A defence ministry proposal on a model of national service for young adults will be put before German politicians in the coming weeks, he added.
