About 150,000 Belgian Teenagers Received Letters Urging Them to Join the Army

In Belgium, teenagers were sent letters encouraging them to consider joining the country’s Armed Forces.

Defense Minister Theo Francken announced the initiative.

The Ministry of Defense sent 149,000 letters to 17-year-olds, inviting them to voluntarily undergo military service.

The recruitment campaign comes amid the government’s plans to create a second motorized brigade and restore the Land Forces as a separate branch of the armed forces.

These plans are supported by increased defense spending and the upcoming adoption of an updated Strategic Vision and legislation on military financing.

Under the new plan, Belgium’s defense budget has risen to 2% of GDP, aimed at strengthening the army amid a deteriorating security situation in Europe.

A key element of the reform is reorganizing the Land Component into a fully independent Land Forces. According to the Ministry of Defense, the new designation reflects enhanced combat readiness, modernization, and rapid growth of the defense sector.

However, behind the formal creation of a second brigade lie several organizational challenges.

In particular, the existing motorized brigade based in Marche-en-Famenne is planned to be split into the 7th and 1st brigades, with the latter headquartered in Bourg-Léopold.

As of 2023, the Belgian Armed Forces had approximately 25,000 active personnel.

Of these, the Land Component accounted for about 10,000, the Air Component 4,900, the Naval Component 1,200, and the Medical Component 1,700. Additionally, there were roughly 6,400 reservists.