Published on 6/25/2026
The German Ministry of Defense announced yesterday, Wednesday, that applications to join the German Armed Forces have witnessed a sharp increase since the launch of the new military service program that aims to increase the number of soldiers.
Berlin aims to increase the number of its active armed forces to 260,000, compared to slightly more than 180,000 currently, in addition to building a reserve force of 200,000 individuals.
Within the framework of the programme, questionnaires were sent to young people approaching the age of 18 to measure their readiness for military service. The German constitution requires men to complete the questionnaire, while participation in it remains optional for women.
The Ministry explained that it had sent about 298,000 questionnaires as of June 18. She added that more than a fifth of the males who responded to the questionnaire expressed their interest in military service, while about 530 people have already been selected to begin service during the current year 2026.
It reported that it had received about 38,500 applications to join various military tracks since the beginning of this year, an increase of 24% compared to the same period in 2025, while the number of recruits increased by 13% to reach about 11,000 people.
The new military service law entered into force on January 1, as part of Germany’s effort to achieve new targets for the size of forces approved by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in response to the increasing security threats resulting from the Russian-Ukrainian war.
