New challenges in Eastern Europe, enhancing deterrence vis-a-vis Russia is one reason for the change of policy, DW reported.
It is no longer feasible to limit the number of soldiers in the German Armed Forces to 185,000.
“The message to the troops is clear. A quarter century of reductions to the armed forces is over. It’s now time for them to grow again,” said the defense minister.
Another reason is that five new overseas missions over the past five years have stretched the forces to their limit.
Read alsoPentagon says NATO weighs four battalions in Eastern Europe to deter Russia: ReutersThe minister says she needs 14,000 more troops. But the opposition says the approach is wrong as the new challenges can’t be met “through rearmament or more tanks,” that’s according to Green Party Parliamentary leader Anton Hofreiter.
They can perhaps be met by soldiers with specialist skills. The army is urgently seeking hackers and “nerds” to counter the possible cyber attacks, the report says.
