5 hours agoReuters unveils document: German Army chief wants 100,000 additional troops
Periskopi(9 months ago)
(9 months ago)The German Army needs 100,000 additional soldiers, in addition to its current 62,000 soldiers, to meet NATO's new goals aimed at increasing readiness for the growing threat of Russian aggression, its chief said in a confidential document seen by Reuters. “It is necessary that the army be sufficient and [...]
“It is necessary that the army is sufficient to be prepared for a war by 2029 and to offer the skills Germany pledged (to NATO) by 2035”, Army Chief Alfons Mays wrote in a letter to Defence Chief Carsten Breuer. He said in his letter that achieving these goals is impossible with the current level of military personnel, which also includes 37,000 inactive soldiers, sends tch.
Germany has already begun to boost its commitments to its Eastern European allies, especially by establishing a German brigade in Lithuania, which is expected to count 5,000 soldiers and by deploying sea patrols on the Baltic Sea to combat underwater sabotage.
Mais is calling for an increase of about 45,000 active troops by 2029, the year when the US-led coalition has said it expects Russia to be able to launch a large-scale attack on Western allies.
Moscow has repeatedly denied any intention to wage war against NATO or its members. In addition to achieving NATO goals agreed on at the June summit and building reserves for a exhausting war such as Russia is waging in Ukraine, May predicted that 45,000 additional troops in office would be needed by 2035.
He also called for about 10,000 more troops to strengthen territorial defence.
A defence ministry spokesman in Berlin refused to comment on the document, citing its confidential nature.
He said NATO had adapted its capacity targets in response to significantly increased threats following the full invasion of Ukraine from Russia in 2022: “According to a rough first assessment, a total of about 460,000 personnel will be needed (from Germany), divided into about 260,000 active troops and about 200,000 militias. ”
In June, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced that Germany would need up to 60,000 additional military personnel in all military branches to meet NATO's new goals, which would eventually lead Germany's Bundeswehr force to about 260,000 soldiers.
However, they have not yet reached the target of 2018 of 203,000 soldiers and still lack personnel, with about 20,000 active personnel, according to defence ministry figures. /Periscope/
