Germany may well have to deploy around 200 serving Bundeswehr personnel to Lithuania due to a shortage of volunteers for a permanent brigade. According to BILD, by the end of September, staffing decisions could affect around a thousand military personnel: around 60% posts have been filled by volunteers, whilst a fifth may be filled through command appointments. This does not involve the mobilisation of the civilian population.<\/p>\n
Briefly about the main points<\/strong><\/p>\n According to BILD, the German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius<\/strong> has approved the possibility of compulsory postings if vacancies in the German brigade in Lithuania cannot be filled by volunteers. The command may assign serving professional soldiers to a specific posting without them having to apply.<\/p>\n In early September, the German Ministry of Defence stated that it wished to retain the principle of voluntary service. At the same time, the brigade\u2019s combat readiness was identified as a priority, so vacant posts will be filled on a compulsory basis where necessary.<\/p>\n Pistorius had warned of such a scenario back in June, when he highlighted a potential shortage of specialists. The Bundeswehr hopes that additional recruitment will reduce the proportion of compulsory transfers to approximately 10%.<\/p>\n The Bundeswehr finds it most difficult to recruit IT specialists, logistics personnel, cooks, technical staff, as well as enlisted personnel and junior officers. Pistorius had previously also cited defence against nuclear, biological and chemical weapons as areas where there was a shortage of personnel.<\/p>\n To attract candidates, the Bundeswehr is running advertising campaigns and organising familiarisation trips to Lithuania for service personnel and their families. As of early September, posts already established within the country had been filled by volunteers to the extent of approximately 92%. The current challenge relates to the next stages of expansion and specific specialisms.<\/p>\n\n
Voluntary service is being maintained, but combat readiness takes priority<\/h2>\n
There is a shortage of specialists to staff the team<\/h2>\n
By the end of 2027, the brigade is to be fully operational<\/h2>\n