The debate surrounding the possible reintroduction of compulsory military service is dividing the German political landscape. Supporters - including parts of the CDU/CSU and the AfD - see it as a necessary step towards strengthening national defense. Critics warn of high costs, a lack of efficiency and an outdated concept of modern warfare. Alternatives such as a voluntary year of service are also being discussed in the political debate. But what does it mean in practice to do military service?
Marie-Sophie Jacobs, 25 years old and a medical student in Dresden, made a conscious decision to do voluntary military service before starting her studies. In an interview with DieSachsen.de, she talks about her personal experiences, the challenges of the military - especially as a woman - and her view of the current debate. She explains why she believes general conscription would not be very effective and what alternatives could strengthen society's ability to defend itself instead.
(Picture: Marie-Sophie Jacobs)
"Our democracy is only truly strong and resilient if it is defended by convinced democrats."
DieSachsen.de: Marie, what made you decide to do voluntary military service?
I had known for a long time that I wanted to be a doctor. However, after I didn't get a place at my university of choice straight after my A-levels, I was faced with the question of how I could spend my year off in a meaningful way. As my career aspirations were already clear, the aspect of exploring professional fields played a subordinate role for me.
Just out of school, I had a thirst for action and a desire for a challenge. I was also curious to get to know the Bundeswehr - an institution about which there are countless clichés, rumors and stories - at first hand. I wanted to form my own opinion and dare to take a slightly more unconventional path.
Of course, pragmatic considerations also played a role in my decision. I come from a family where financial resources are very limited and my mother would not have been able to support me at the time. The opportunity to earn my own salary therefore seemed more attractive to me than the prospect of a small amount of pocket money as part of a Voluntary Social Year (FSJ). At the same time, however, money was not my main motivation - otherwise I could have simply continued to work in the catering industry, as I had done during my time at sixth form. I also wanted to develop myself during the year, learn, test my limits and do something that had a deeper meaning for me.
DieSachsen.de: What were your expectations and to what extent did they change during your time of service?
First of all, I looked online and read through individual testimonials. This quickly made it clear to me that general basic training (AGA) and the subsequent service can be very different, that experiences are very individual and can depend on many factors.
I also went to the Bundeswehr Career Center for advice. Among other things, you could find out about the various options for subsequent deployment after completing basic training and easily find out which branch of the armed forces is the most suitable for you. I think I started my service relatively well informed as a result.
Nevertheless, you can't prepare for everything. A certain mental flexibility and willingness to adapt to the given circumstances are part of "living in the situation" and are among the basic requirements.
Of course, I wasn't entirely free of naive ideas about training and everyday life during basic training at the beginning. While the service is usually physically and mentally demanding, the reality is not that you practice action-packed missions every day or that you are trained to become an elite soldier within seven or twelve months. The basic training lays the foundation, but everyday life also includes routine activities - including guard duty, cleaning the accommodation and organizational tasks.
After my AGA, I was then transferred to the Bundeswehr hospital in Berlin, where I supported the nursing staff in the urology department. So in the end, it wasn't that far removed from an FSJ in a medical facility. One unexpectedly positive experience for me there was that the staffing ratio was above average and the medical staff - made up of members of the German Armed Forces and civilian employees - were therefore able to take the time to explain procedures to me and teach me a lot. I was even occasionally able to accompany the doctors in the special diagnostics operating room. Incidentally, it was also a huge advantage later on that I was able to have my work at the Bundeswehr hospital credited as a nursing internship for my medical studies.
DieSachsen.de: Can you describe a typical day during your military service? What challenges did you have to face?
There is actually no such thing as a typical day at the AGA. The training is very varied and you get a rota that alternates between days that are dominated by theoretical instruction and lessons and days when you are out and about in the training area from early in the morning until late at night. One of the routines that took place on most days in my AGA was, for example, early morning exercise. This meant getting up at 04:50, starting at 05:00, then running a few kilometers, followed by general fitness and strength exercises and then breakfast.
Of course, you have to get used to getting up early. And 10 minutes between the wake-up call and getting ready - including getting dressed and making the bed - was also quite tight at first. But at some point it became routine. Then you had everything done in 3 minutes and could queue for the toilet for another 5 minutes.
Testing your limits - physically and mentally. (Image: Marie-Sophie Jacobs)
DieSachsen.de: What skills and knowledge have you acquired through your military service?
When I look back, I have positive memories of how much more than just military knowledge and skills are taught during basic training. In addition to weapons training and physical training, you also learn many generally useful skills, complete orienteering runs, deal with topics such as environmental protection and nature conservation and are taught political education and the basics of military and international law. Then there is also troop-specific training content. As I opted for voluntary military service in the medical corps, my further training included first aid courses, exercises on evacuation and medical care for comrades under combat conditions and much more.
Other than that, it was a special experience to grow together as a team in such a diverse and random group, to experience what camaraderie means and to stick together, even if you might not necessarily like each other in private.
DieSachsen.de: How was it working with the other conscripts, especially in the context of mixed genders?
The proportion of women in my training platoon was quite high - not unusual for the medical unit - although not quite 50:50. There were still sexist remarks and comments here and there. Everyone has different limits as to what they can get away with in fun and where discrimination and misogyny begin and should not be met with tolerance. How you deal with it is also very different, although of course it's best to speak up directly if something bothers you. Of course, this doesn't just apply to women, because for me this is also part of camaraderie: intervening when someone is belittled or discriminated against because of their gender or other personal characteristics.
From my own experience in a platoon with an above-average proportion of women, I have had mostly pleasant experiences with the other FWD members (editor's note: those doing voluntary military service). That doesn't mean that every comrade was an active campaigner for women's rights, but you don't have to get on with everyone on a private level or share the same views. However, mutual respect and trusting cooperation without exclusion are very much necessary to function as a team and are part of the basic democratic attitude that includes the principle of equal rights.
Of course, there are always people who claim that women are less suitable for military service (or even the fire department or police) due to physical characteristics such as smaller size and strength. While basic fitness and strength requirements must of course be a prerequisite, I think such general statements are nonsense. I would like to briefly mention the two most important reasons why I reject this assumption.
The fact that men are taller and stronger on average can hardly be disputed. But there are also women who perform at least as well in these areas and who meet all the requirements for service in the Bundeswehr. Why should a suitable person be denied access to a profession because of their gender? For me, it comes down to individual suitability.
And secondly, do all soldiers or forces necessarily have to conform to a standard male type in terms of height and stature? I don't think so. Diversity in a team can actually be a great advantage, as not all missions have the same requirements. For example, while a tall, strong soldier could more easily carry injured comrades, a small, slender soldier can crawl into a narrow tunnel and rescue a child. A uniform preselection according to a certain "type" is therefore not always useful.
Marie (center) with her barrack mates (picture: Marie-Sophie Jacobs)
Were there any moments or aspects during your military service that you found particularly difficult or negative? How did you deal with them?
One incident that sticks in my mind was during a resuscitation exercise. One of the instructors made a sexist remark ("It doesn't matter if it's a horny 18-year-old with big tits or a disgusting old bag with tubular breasts, you have to push"), which - as it wasn't the first "joke" by the instructor that sexualized women in a completely unnecessary and inappropriate way - led to discussions during the break and raised the question of how to deal with it. Here, too, there was everything from "it was just a joke" to "we should report it directly to the company commander". You should bear in mind that the instructor, who was in his late 40s at the time, was also faced with 17-19-year-old female paramedics. In the end, we decided to talk to the instructor in person first. However, after he once again expressed his indifference to our concerns in a rather derogatory manner, we passed it on to the platoon commander as a report. A few internal conversations and a dishonest apology when reporting for duty later, the instructor in question was certainly not a convinced feminist and there were and certainly continue to be far more complex and systemic problems with sexism in the Bundeswehr than individuals making inappropriate remarks, but at least we did not accept such behavior without comment.
DieSachsen.de: The discussion about a possible reintroduction of compulsory military service is currently very much alive. What is your personal stance on this issue?
First of all, I would like to say that this is a super exciting but also very complex topic, which I can probably hardly do justice to in this context. In addition, although I am interested in politics, I am not a defense expert. What follows here is my subjective view, broken down too briefly in this context.
In a changing world, the nature of warfare is also changing. Traditional field battles with large troop deployments will increasingly take a back seat in the future. Instead, the quality of training, technological capabilities and state-of-the-art equipment will become increasingly important. The focus should therefore be more on targeted
professionalization and modernization of the armed forces instead of focusing solely on increasing the number of personnel.
For example, the security of our (digital) infrastructure is becoming increasingly important and complex. In order to meet the new challenges in defence and security policy, I believe we need a diversely specialized, well-trained professional army rather than a numerically strong lay army. I therefore also see potential for reform in the provisions for assessing the suitability of potential soldiers. This could, for example, be differentiated more strongly according to use.
I also believe that the immediate implementation of universal conscription as a short-term response to the growing security concerns makes little sense, as capacities for training and equipping conscripts would first have to be created again and this therefore seems unrealistic - at least as a quick solution to current threats. Of course, the reintroduction of compulsory military service would also incur high costs. I'm not saying that we should save on defense in principle, but these are funds that could possibly be better invested in equipping the Bundeswehr and training professional soldiers.
One argument that I can understand in the discussion about universal conscription, on the other hand, is the general increase in society's resilience and ability to defend itself on a large scale if young people were to be trained in various defense-related aspects. Introducing a social year that focuses on authorities and organizations with security tasks ("blue light organizations"), and institutions such as disaster control, etc., as currently envisaged in the CDU's rough plan, for example, sounds the most sensible to me. However, whether there are really meaningful activities for all young people without prior qualifications remains highly questionable to me.
I therefore tend to reject general and compulsory community service, but also for other reasons.
Firstly, there are many young people who already have clear career goals. They should have the opportunity to go straight into their training or professional life instead of having to complete a compulsory year. Every case in which a trained specialist is available to society a year later also means a loss of productive manpower. There are also career paths that already involve long periods of training.
Furthermore, the argument is often put forward in the discussion that a compulsory year of community service could promote discipline and character development, which, as we all know, the younger generations are supposedly always lacking. However, in my view, this is precisely what society already contributes to during the school years - through teachers and educators. Beyond that, I believe that the home and personal responsibility are the most important factors. After all, it cannot be the job of care workers, emergency services staff or other professional groups in relevant institutions to make up for deficits in education and to look after unmotivated compulsory service children.
I think more support and improvement of the concepts for voluntary service formats is the right thing to do. It might even be possible to discuss the introduction of compulsory community service if you are not in training or work within a year of leaving school.
In any case, a mandatory year of service would have to be carefully planned to ensure that the areas of deployment are chosen sensibly and that service providers are deployed in activities in which unskilled workers also make a real contribution. Ultimately, such a model requires well thought-out concepts, long-term planning and flexible options. This is the only way to prevent young people from simply serving their compulsory year instead of gaining a foothold in their desired career fields.
DieSachsen.de: Have you noticed that women face special challenges in military service? If so, what are they?
Yes, but the conditions and challenges are also very different and varied. I don't want to speak for all women, as we all have our own individual experiences. But one thing that affects many of us is menstruation. Especially in the AGA, this can be an additional burden and challenge (or in perspective for female soldiers on foreign deployments or similar).
In principle, of course, every female soldier has to take care of her own personal health and associated fitness for duty. This includes, among other things, having any period pain that interferes with service checked by a gynecologist and treated if possible. Unfortunately, not every period pain can be treated successfully. And sometimes it can happen that even severe symptoms are not taken seriously. And then, of course, there are the logistical difficulties of exercising "in the field". As a woman, you usually have to put some extra thought into this beforehand. It's incredibly helpful to talk to other women, many are happy to share tips and tricks and sometimes it just helps to talk about it and realize that you're at least not completely alone with your problems.
My tip: Whether you're a man or a woman, always have a few tampons and pads with you! This is not only useful if you can use them to help a comrade out of a predicament, but is also ideal material for lighting fires or even stopping nosebleeds (of course, sterile compresses are always preferable for wound care or pressure bandages for deeper injuries!
DieSachsen.de: Is there anything you would like to pass on to our readers, especially young women who may still have to make this decision?
Don't be discouraged by outdated ideas or slogans at the regulars' table that claim you have no place in the defense of our country or that the military is purely a man's job. The Bundeswehr offers a wide range of tasks and opportunities to get involved. Very few of them require a Y chromosome.
So just do an individual and honest evaluation of your skills and strengths - regardless of your gender - and think about what interests you.
Don't focus too much on what you can't do yet. Especially if you are young and just out of school, ask yourself: What do I want to learn? What do I want to be able to do one day?"
DieSachsen.de: Thank you, Marie, for the exciting insights and your frank words - a valuable contribution to the current debate!
