Germany considers scrapping the draft

Germany has 5,200 soldiers in Afghan­istan, the third-largest troop presence after the United States and Britain. Images of German soldiers dying there and German soldiers causing civilian losses have highlighted the need for the Army to be better trained and equipped, observers agree. Breaking new ground, Defense Minister Guttenberg actually referred to the engagement as a war – not a conflict. The experience also contributed to Guttenberg's call for ending the draft. "He faced reality, saw how senseless conscription is from a military point of view," says Ms. Puglierin. "Ten years ago, that wouldn't have been possible." The ruling coalition of Chancellor Angela Merkel is slated to make a decision on reform in November.

Hans-Georg Ehrhart of the Insti­tute for Peace Research and Security Policy in Hamburg says that because draftees cannot be sent to conflicts like Afghanistan, they have essentially become useless. Unless they volunteer for it and agree to extend their military service, they cannot be deployed for combat. Defense De­part­ment officials say that, for now, no more than 8,000 German soldiers can be deployed into a conflict abroad.

Even former German Army chief Klaus Naumann questions conscription. "In the current situation, where war in Europe, war between European states is – thank God – no longer conceivable, in a world in which we must deal with terrorism ... you can no longer make people feel that we absolutely need conscription," says Mr. Naumann. Most Germans agree, however, that conscription should remain anchored in the law, so the government could reinstitute it.

The government had already sealed the fate of conscription in July, when it reduced national service from nine months to six. Naumann says he could support conscription "if it still made sense, if you could still use it to form units in which the young man can say at the end of his service: 'OK, I've learned how it works, I have the confidence to go into battle with this company ... and sur-vive.' " But, he says, "you can't do that in six months."

Gut­ten­berg faces opposition from his party. "Com­pulsory military service should remain in place, also for reasons of social policy," insists Wolfgang Bosbach, a majority member of parliament. "As a result of conscription, millions of young men have gotten to know and respect the [Army]. It is the fundamental idea of the citizen in uniform."

A place for civilian service

The Army Guttenberg envisions would be about half the size it was six years ago, prompting Völker Ruhe, a former Conservative defense minister, and Ulrich Weisser, a retired vice admiral, to write in Der Spiegel: "Germany cannot assume that the French, British, Poles and Italians will make up for what Germany no longer wants to do. Why should European countries with less economic power than Germany do more for Europe's security in the long run than we do?"

At Main Krokodile, Niedergesäss hopes civilian service can be replaced with voluntary service. "I did community service instead of military service myself, and it was great," he says. "But when there is no war that needs the help of conscripts, I understand that the draft ... has to be restructured."

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