August 24, 2007:
An increasing
number of German politicians are calling for an end to conscription. But
military officials and pollsters point out that it's unlikely that Germany
could get 60,000 young men and women to volunteer each year. Currently, about
400,000 Germans become eligible for conscription each year, but only 60,000 are
needed. The rest are either sent to do civilian jobs (usually in hospitals or
old-age homes) or allowed to avoid service. In any event, conscript service is
only for nine months. There are still Germans eager to do military service, but
opinion polls indicate, not enough of them to support the current armed forces
strength of 250,000. Leftist politicians are calling for the armed forces to be
allowed to shrink, and trained mainly for peacekeeping missions.