Ed Germany to end military conscription

[NWO Sentryman]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12125650

Germany has started the process of ending conscription - the biggest shake-up of its military since World War II.

From July, the German army will end conscription and slim down from 250,000 troops to a volunteer force of 185,000.

The BBC's Stephen Evans joined some of the final recruits in Berlin.

Given that the Cold War is over, i'd say that it was long overdue.

Edit: Damn it! messed up the title, can a mod fix that?

 

[ddt]

Given that the Cold War is over, i'd say that it was long overdue.

Yes, but it's a sensitive point. When Adenauer refounded a German army, he was adamant it should be a conscription army, given Germany's bad experience in the Weimar years with a purely professional army.

And I think they just stopped calling new conscripts, so that it is easy to re-institute conscription should that ever be needed.

 

[angrysoba]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12125650



Given that the Cold War is over, i'd say that it was long overdue.

Edit: Damn it! messed up the title, can a mod fix that?

Nah! I think that it's no big deal one way or the other. I believe that it is actually "national service" which doesn't always mean joining the military.

 

[NWO Sentryman]

Yes, but it's a sensitive point. When Adenauer refounded a German army, he was adamant it should be a conscription army, given Germany's bad experience in the Weimar years with a purely professional army.

And I think they just stopped calling new conscripts, so that it is easy to re-institute conscription should that ever be needed.

LBH, the only reason conscription was there was because of the cold war and more meat for the meatgrinder (*insert zerg rush joke here*).

and Professional Soldiers are better than conscript armies because they have greater morale.

As well as that warfare has gotten so complicated it's no longer "grab those plebes there - they'll give us a few more expendable bodies" you need determined soldiers.

 

[timhau]

and Professional Soldiers are better than conscript armies because they have greater morale.

Then again, conscripted soldiers have something going for them too -- they are much, much harder to use against your own people. That, of course, is not something that is likely to come up in present-day Germany any time soon.

As well as that warfare has gotten so complicated it's no longer "grab those plebes there - they'll give us a few more expendable bodies" you need determined soldiers.

Part of it is complicated. Part of it is still fairly simple in principle but requires manpower. Look at Afghanistan.

 

[Chaos]

LBH, the only reason conscription was there was because of the cold war and more meat for the meatgrinder (*insert zerg rush joke here*).

Indeed. A common Bundeswehr joke was that their job was to slow down the enemy until the real soldiers arrive.

 

[Beerina]

Then again, conscripted soldiers have something going for them too -- they are much, much harder to use against your own people. That, of course, is not something that is likely to come up in present-day Germany any time soon.

For small definitions of "soon". I would not be so quick to jump on the bandwagon of "History's over!" Based on world, European, or even just German history, "soon" averages out to what, no more than 50-ish years?

 

[timhau]

For small definitions of "soon". I would not be so quick to jump on the bandwagon of "History's over!" Based on world, European, or even just German history, "soon" averages out to what, no more than 50-ish years?

I was going for human-scale soon. In that scale, 50 years is not 'soon' (just like the fall of the Berlin Wall isn't 'recent').

 

[Darth Rotor]

What, German cuisine won't scare prospective invaders off on its own (lack of) merit?

Or are they invading to take over the beer?

 

[timhau]

What, German cuisine won't scare prospective invaders off on its own (lack of) merit?

What's wrong with Sauerkraut and Bratwurst? Or their cheeses or especially the various forms of fantastic German bread? German food is seriously underappreciated.

 

[plumjam]

This is good news. Finally we can all relax.

 

[Damien Evans]

What's wrong with Sauerkraut and Bratwurst? Or their cheeses or especially the various forms of fantastic German bread? German food is seriously underappreciated.

They also make pretty good Lager and Weissbier.