Patrick Sensburg, president of the reserve association, voiced concerns regarding deficiencies in the care and support provided to reservists by the German armed forces and urged for improvements. Speaking to “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” he stated, “We have many interested people, but they are not coming into the system because the processes are too slow”. He expressed a desire for faster processes, beginning with the security vetting procedures. Sensburg further added, “Moreover, the reserve needs to be registered and maintained. And we need planning security. This is very important for reservists because exercises are frequently canceled at short notice. That should not happen”.
The head of the reserve association also commented that the planned expansion by the Ministry of Defense to 200,000 reservists is insufficient in his view. He argued, “To be resilient, the reserve must be three times the size of the regular force. That would mean 800,000 to 900,000 soldiers”. According to a report from the Bundestag Military Representative, Henning Otte (CDU), only about 60,000 reservists were recently mobilized, meaning they were assigned to specific duties.
The new military service law, which took effect in early January, stipulates that the regular force, which was around 184,000 soldiers, will increase to 260,000 by 2035-and the reserve will increase to 200,000. Under this plan, volunteers completing a minimum of six months of service will automatically be assigned to the reserve, unless they become career or time soldiers.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense told the RND that the new “Reserve Strategy” is in its final stages. She added, “We will be able to provide further information on this in April, after the document is approved by the Federal Minister and the Parliament is informed”. Furthermore, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) had announced a reserve strengthening law in the Bundestag at the end of February, expected this summer.
