The German Defense Ministry plans to significantly strengthen the reserve of the Bundeswehr, which should number up to 60,000 men and women.

Lieutenant General Andreas Hoppe, Deputy Inspector General of the Bundeswehr and Commissioner for Reservists, announced this in his interview with DPA.

“I am convinced that we must fully adapt the reserve to modern security policy challenges so that it can properly support the Bundeswehr in carrying out national and allied defence tasks,” Hoppe said.

The aim of the Bundeswehr command is to equip and train companies and battalions of reservists that could be easily integrated into the brigade’s operational command.

Hoppe believes fourteen days of training per year is sufficient to maintain reserve combat capability. Lieutenant General wants to convince employers to give reservists time off for the duration of the meeting.

“If people have a high level of training when they quit the Bundeswehr and don’t get any chance to practice for six years of basic tasks, then the value they bring naturally becomes limited over time,” he said.

The Bundeswehr needs a lot of specialists who could protect important infrastructure.

“Nothing will work without a reserve. We see it in Ukraine,” Hoppe said, saying that everyone should realize it.

According to Lieutenant General, after the end of the Cold War, reserve training was neglected, which, accordingly, resulted in a shortage of personnel.

The military expects about 10,000 troops to join the reserve each year, which could be called up.

The German Ministry of Defense is also studying the number of people who could potentially be drafted into service if needed. The list includes citizens who previously served in the Bundeswehr.

“There are different numbers. We assume there are about 800,000 people who could still be conscripted. In principle, this includes all those who once served in the Bundeswehr, retired, and are of conscription age, including the last few years of conscription,” Hoppe said.

Recently, Militarnyi reported that the German Ministry of Defense plans to begin preparing the country’s armed forces for a potential war by 2029.

This preparation is due to be completed by 2029, but plans may be modified somewhat as appropriate funding from the German government is required.