The Germans are expanding the army. A 4th of a million as a target

At the beginning of 2025, the Bundeswehr had about 183 1000 soldiers and 60,000 reservists. Earlier plans were to increase the number of soldiers to 203 1000 by 2031, which was already considered ambitious. Among the Germans there is no motivation for military service, and the number of vacancies varies from 20% to almost 30% depending on the degree. Meanwhile, Minister of defence Boris Pistorius, [quoted by Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-will-need-thousands-more-troops-under-new-nato-targets-says-defence-2025-06-05/), indicated that NATO's fresh targets require as many as 60,000 additional soldiers, which would mean a mark of 260 1000 soldiers, including active and reservists.