Bundeswehr Considers Former East German Soldiers too Address Staff โฃShortages
BERLIN – Facing a โขcritical shortage โคof personnel,theโ German Bundeswehr is exploring the possibility of utilizing former soldiers of the Nationale Volksarmee (NVA),the armed forces โฃof East Germany,as reservists. The move, โproposed โby CDUโ politician Sepp Mรผller, wouldโฃ require amending a provisionโ within โขthe German reunification โฃcontract.
According โto a report in Stern magazine, the Bundeswehr aims to โคhave 200,000 rapidly deployable reservists, while the Bundeswehr Association advocates for โa reserve force of up to one million. Currently, only 51,000 reservists are available, despiteโ a โpool of approximately 860,000 individuals who have previously servedโค in the โขbundeswehr and retain their rank.
“It is time to use the soldiers of the NVA whoโฃ voluntarily report to protect โฃour โขfreedom,” Mรผller stated. He proposesโฃ accelerated training programs tailoredโค for former NVA personnel, acknowledging their โฃprior conscript service. “We celebrate 35 yearsโ of the freedom of freedom.โ For a long time, our freedom was no longer as threatened asโฃ it โwas up to date,” Mรผller explained.
The discussion follows a similarโฃ call fromโฃ Left โParty politician Jan Bartsch, who suggested revisiting the regulation excluding former NVA soldiers, even considering their age.”Even if all former NVA soldiers are nowโฃ over 50 years old, one should rethink weather their complete exclusion should be maintained,”โ Bartsch โขtold the Sรผddeutsche Zeitung, pointing to potential roles in homeland security. Bartsch himself served in an NVA parachute hunter battalion.
The current restriction stems from the terms of German reunification.Whileโค approximately 18,000 NVA soldiers where integratedโ into โthe Bundeswehr post-reunification, the remaining โ152,000+ were barred from reservist โฃstatus.A change in regulations could potentially open reservist roles to โฃtens of thousands of men now between the ages of 50 and 65, allโ of whom completed โmandatoryโ military โฃserviceโค in the GDR.