Europe’s soldiers keep quitting, just when NATO needs them

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PARIS — It’s no longer so much about recruiting new soldiers as it is about persuading existing troops not to quit.

This week, French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu presented a talent retention plan to incentivize military personnel to remain in uniform.

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That comes a few days after an annual report submitted to the German parliament showed that in 2023, some 1,537 soldiers left the Bundeswehr, reducing it to 181,514 personnel.

“Those conversations now exist in all capitals, in all democracies that have professional armies without conscription,” Lecornu said on Monday, mentioning the United Kingdom and the United States.

“At NATO meetings, we can talk about equipment, but now we also talk about … the level of retention,” he added.

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As Europe rearms in reaction to the war in Ukraine, countries such as Croatia are mulling bringing back conscription. Others, like Denmark, plan to expand it to include women. Germany scrapped conscription in 2011, but with many in the military ageing out of service there’s renewed discussion over some kind of national service system being reintroduced.

https://www.politico.eu/article/nato-russia-ukraine-war-defense-france-germany-soldiers-army/

h/t inna