Published: 1 Mar 11 07:37 CET | Print version
Updated: 1 Mar 11 14:20 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20110301-33413.html
The German military could find itself short thousands of soldiers once conscription ends because few volunteers appear to be interested in signing up.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
Arjen Robben scored a heart-stopping 89th-minute winner to earn Bayern Munich a dramatic 2-1 win over German rivals Borussia Dortmund on Saturday after a thrilling Champions League final at London's Wembley Stadium. READ () »
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday called on Germans to fight prejudice against immigrants ahead of next week's integration summit. READ () »
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday as the two export powerhouses seek to further strengthen economic ties amid brewing trade spats between Beijing and the EU. READ () »
Frankfurt city skyline is being celebrated this weekend with a skyscraper extravaganza. Hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to witness spectacular events, daring feats and music in the sky. READ () »
German security services have been put on high alert after picking up terror warnings for public viewings of Saturday night's all-German Champions League final. READ () »
15 young children were taken to hospital late on Friday after bug-busting authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia accidentally dumped toxic insecticide over a primary school during playtime. READ () »
The head of the German central Bundesbank Jens Weidmann said on Friday that eurozone countries should be able to default, a possibility which the EU has gone to great lengths to avoid during the current crisis. READ () »
Germany could in the future have a country-wide “tolerable limit” for cannabis possession, it was reported on Friday. Currently, this amount differs between states. READ () »
More news from France at thelocal.fr
More news from Norway at thelocal.no
More news from Sweden at thelocal.se
More news from Switzerland at thelocal.ch
See all ads | Join the Marketplace
868 jobs available
641 new jobs this week
0 new jobs today
Dating
Looking for your own blonde bombshell? Or is the strong, silent type more your
style? Find a German sweetheart here.
Weather
"After clouds comes clear weather," say the Germans. But what about after that? Find out in The Local's weather
section.
Blog
German stuff that's distracting us today.
Noticeboard
Whether you want to buy, sell, hire, announce or promote something, here's the place to do it - completely free of
charge.
Discuss
Debate the news, ask for advice, make friends - or just let off steam.
Register now for:
> Free use of noticeboard
> Special discounts
> Weekly news roundup
> Unlimited use of discuss
Your comments about this article:
The Bundeswehr is bloated with useless conscripts that at the end of the day would rather be at home than on the front line, get rid of them and make it a proffesional armed force with better incentives for the right people.
Second problem is simply the career path of most German kids by age sixteen. Most have plans and don't really want to change them to include the military.
Finally, you come to this issue of political slant. Even by early teens....a fair number of German youth are anti-military and find it a bit crazy to even consider the military as an option.
In the USA there are areas of high unemployment that offer good opportunities for recruiters.
Germany will find many of it's recruits from areas in the former GDR that have higher than normal unemployment.It is doubtful however that the goal of 170,000 will be achieved with good volunteers unless the pay is very attractive.
I think he can do this within the first year. at this rate, easily
- it used to be cool, not many brownie points anymore
- it used to lead to good civilian careers afterwards, leadership & responsibility, technical achievements.. - the good bits are outsourced to civilians anyway now
- it used to be something to be proud of, defending the country! Now you are fighting to instal puppet regimes in someone else's empire
The military in Germany is just at the hard end of this problem, most countries are going the same way. Unless the modern world finds a new use for armies that offers young people what they need - we won't have any armies soon
I'll bet you anything a soldier (who gets sent to some Durka-Durkastan to get his head or legs blown off) does it on a 400 euro basis.
Then he's fighting to defend American Oil interests or something like that.
The only ones I can see joining up are the NPD/Nazis. Once that happens, there will be a major incident down the line somewhere that will make the Gorch Fock look like tabloid gossip.
Now tell me again why the bright young things needed to lead armies should join up?
I've never done less than 12!!
And American has an aircraft carrier off the coast of Libya, when America doesn't even get oil from there -- Libyan oil goes to Europe.
Can't wait till it wakes up and leaves the Europeans to their own defense!!!!