Young Germans opting out of military service as Berlin strives to boost army

Germany is facing a recruitment challenge. Per The Guardian, a sharp surge in applications to opt out of military service is undermining Berlin's effort to strengthen its conventional army. Almost six thousand young people applied to be excluded on moral or religious grounds, and more have applied in the first half of twenty twenty-six than in all of twenty twenty-five. The 'conscription lite' policy was designed to help deter the Russian threat, but widespread objections are complicating those military ambitions.

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