UPDATE - Germany to introduce new conscription model for army: Defense minister

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By Anadolu staff

BERLIN (AA) - Germany will introduce a new conscription model for the army, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced on Wednesday.

Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, Pistorius said the government will not bring back the general conscription model of Cold War era, but will focus on increasing the number of willing recruits.

“Young men who turn 18 will receive a questionnaire from us containing questions about qualifications, interests, affection for sports, and whether they are interested in volunteering for the armed forces,” he said, adding that filling out the survey form and submitting it online to the authorities will be compulsory.

“Women who turn 18 will also receive this questionnaire, but not with an obligation, because they are not subject to conscription according to our constitution,” he said, but underlined that they will continue taking steps to increase the number of women who voluntarily serve in the military.

“We currently have 10,000 volunteers doing military service. With the introduction of this new model, we assume that we will be able to train 5,000 additional military service members in the first year. Our aim is to let this number grow year after year,” Pistorius said.

Under the new model, voluntary recruits will be required to complete six months of basic military service, and will be able to serve up to 23 months. The volunteers will receive a monthly military pay of €1800 ($1950).

The Defense Ministry is planning to increase the number of military personnel to 203,000 by 2031, from around 181,000 now. The country had suspended compulsory military service in 2011 and switched to a professional army system.