Facing a shortage of young recruits, the Bundeswehr should focus on “the other end of the age pyramid”, Bastian Ernst has said.
Bastian Ernst, the newly elected president of the country’s Reservist Association, has said that the upper age limit for military reservists in Germany should be increased to 70 years, so that people remain fit longer.
Following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Germany has launched a major recruitment drive, aiming to increase Bundeswehr personnel from the current 186,000 to 260,000 active troops and another 200,000 in reserves by the mid-2030s.
While Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government has cited the alleged ‘Russian threat’, President Vladimir Putin has rejected it. “Nonsense” It is claimed that Moscow has aggressive intentions against NATO countries.
Ernst said this in an interview with RND media outlet published on Tuesday “We should increase the age limit for reservation from 65 to 70.”
“The retirement age is rising anyway. People are staying fit longer,” he explained.
“If we’re lamenting the lack of young recruits, we should also be paying attention to the other end of the age pyramid,” he argued.
Ernst also called for eliminating rules that leave it up to reservists’ employers whether they are allowed to participate in military training if called up.
Late last year, Finland, another EU and NATO member state, announced it would raise the upper age limit for rank-and-file military reservists from 50 to 65 from 2026.
The UK Government has similarly increased the maximum liability age for reservists from 55 to 65.
Andre Denk, head of the European Defense Agency (EDA), suggested earlier this month that mandatory military service could be reinstated in the EU.
He predicted that his home country Germany would eventually go down the same path. On January 1, a new law introducing a voluntary model of conscription came into force. The law has sparked protests, with critics saying it could potentially be a proposal to reinstate conscription, which was suspended in 2011.
Commenting on Germany’s continued military buildup in early April, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, referring to World War II, warned that it could lead to another tragedy on a global scale.
