Germany to End Conscription?

The Germans might be turning off the conscription faucet. Oddly, there's been little military reason to maintain a conscripted force for 10 years, it was the social benefit of having people from all over Germany (including the former Ossi's) serving together that kept it in play for so long.

When Max Schröder turned 17 last year, one of the first letters he received was from the Defense Ministry. It was his call-up papers.

“I had to fill out a 10-page questionnaire that asked me everything, from allergies and illnesses to diet and fitness,” the teenager said, sitting in a cafe opposite his school in Berlin’s southern district of Zehlendorf.

Mr. Schröder has until he is 19 to decide whether to sign up or opt for alternative community service, though he seems to have already made up his mind. “I have no intentions of becoming a conscript,” he said. But by the time he tells the government his choice, it may be moot.

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the defense minister, is expected to formally propose ending conscription this coming Sunday or Monday, when the cabinet retreats to a government house outside Berlin to discuss how and where to make big cuts to reduce the budget deficit.

In his attempt to modernize the army, Mr. Guttenberg has said he intends to close garrisons and reduce the armed forces to 150,000, from 250,000. That, he said, meant taking a hard look at conscription.

By: Brant