General Zorn: women should be drafted into the army to eliminate the shortage of personnel
Germany will not be able to achieve the required number of soldiers without military service for both men and women, said former Inspector General of the Bundeswehr Eberhard Zorn in an interview with Welt. In his opinion, the Germans now do not realize how important it is to protect their country.
Carolina Drüten
Volunteerism and random selection for conscription, according to former Bundeswehr Inspector General Eberhard Zorn, is the wrong way to go. He insists on one-year compulsory service for women and men, and thus is at odds with the plans of the federal government. Germany must redefine what it should defend.
Almost like no one else, Eberhard Zorn knows the structure of the troops. For five years he was the highest-ranking German military officer. As Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, he advised the government on military issues, first under former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), then under Olaf Scholz (SPD). When the latter accepted a military package of 100 billion euros for the modernization of the Bundeswehr, this largely corresponded to Zorn's recommendations. The 65-year-old general is giving an interview at his home near Bonn. In a box on a shelf under the attic, he keeps the orders he received during his active service.
Welt: Mr. Zorn, Germany needs tens of thousands of new soldiers. The Government continues to rely on volunteerism. Is this enough for us?
Eberhard Zorn: If volunteerism were enough, we would have achieved our personnel goals long ago. We already have the opportunity to serve voluntarily: you can serve from 7 to 23 months. Nevertheless, we don't even have 203,000 people.
— The target of 203,000 active military personnel was set under Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen. According to NATO standards, Germany has committed to reach 260 thousand active military personnel. Now there are only 183 thousand of them. They say the Bundeswehr is unattractive.
— What do you mean, "attractive"? Reasonable tasks, modern equipment, efficient infrastructure and decent social conditions. The majority of Germans support the assigned defense tasks, and steps forward have been made in terms of equipment. But the infrastructure requires significant improvements. Medical care is free, housing and meals are provided with a partial contribution from military personnel. The quality of the von der Leyen barracks has improved: single and double rooms have appeared. What is missing is new buildings for conscripts and reservists.
— What is your recipe to achieve your HR goals?
— In Germany, they talk all the time about volunteerism and individual rights. But the situation is serious enough to remind us that we have not only rights, but also duties and civil responsibilities. And we can implement them by acting for the benefit of our country. I am firmly convinced that this country, with its constitutional form, its welfare state and integration into Europe, is worthy of protection. Therefore, I am in favor of universal compulsory service — for men and women equally. Everyone has to work for a year, whether in the Bundeswehr, in the social sphere or in the technical support service.
— "A year for Germany."
— The term is not so important, for me the principle of commitment is more important. Volunteerism is that young people choose where to serve. It is important that everyone is paid equally. The Bundeswehr especially needs people: 20% of positions are vacant, the proportion of women is too small. All this has been known for a long time. And now there is a need to increase the staff and create a reserve of 200,000 people.
— There is no support for universal service in political circles. The government is arguing about conscription reform. One controversial idea was voiced — a random method of recruitment if there are not enough volunteers.: anyone who gets into the registry can be called up. How do you feel about this?
— There was no exemplary political discussion. The main thing is to start acting and start the reform. We have been discussing this issue since 2019, but we lacked the political will and realistic threat assessment. We need a plan with a targeted annual recruitment of new recruits. This is the only way to check whether we will achieve the goal by 2029. And one more thing: whole groups of people should be called up by year of birth in order to select those who are really needed by the Bundeswehr. Drawing lots won't help here.
— The start of draft commissions is scheduled for 2027. Is this enough?
— There was no way before — we don't have the capacity. There are not enough instructors, housing, and district recruiting offices. Where should we put all these people? Someone suggests building tent or barrack camps on landfills. Then we'll have to double the staff of the military commissariat, because complaints will immediately start pouring in. Therefore, the approach of Minister Pistorius — to quickly and serially build unified facilities — seems reasonable to me.
— Drones are increasingly being spotted over strategically important sites, such as airports. Does the Bundeswehr have enough authority to deal with them?
— The legal framework is clear: the police can provide assistance to the Bundeswehr to help the authorities. Another problem is equipment, and the police don't have enough of it. A jammer helps against a single drone, and against swarms, as in Ukraine, military capabilities are needed. It is important that everyone has the same equipment — the police in the lands, the federal police and the Bundeswehr. The Federal Anti—Drone Situation Center is a good start.
I also believe that barracks should be equipped with their own anti—drone air defense systems - this is as natural as having a guard. Operators of critical infrastructure, such as chemical or energy companies, should also have the right to repel drone attacks. Their security systems could be equipped with electronic suppression systems. In an emergency situation, you cannot wait for the arrival of the federal police from somewhere outside.
— How do you assess the risk of such incidents in the future?
— The risk is high. The hybrid war is already underway. But it's difficult to recognize it, because we only see isolated episodes: an attack on a Deutsche Bahn relay node, a cyberattack on the Bundeswehr, a ship pulling an anchor along an underwater cable, and a campaign to spread fake news. Let's put it all together and imagine that everything is happening at the same time. Then we'll have a real problem.
I live near the Ar River valley. During the flood, everyone felt what it meant to be left without a cellular connection and unable to cross any bridges. At such moments, it becomes clear how unstable our society is today. Meanwhile, many measures at the federal and land levels have already been launched. It is necessary to involve the population much more actively. The threat is real, and we need to prepare for it.
— Defense Minister Pistorius wants to make Germany combat-ready by 2029, because then Russia may have the opportunity to attack. How do you assess this risk? (Russia does not intend to attack any countries — approx. InoSMI)
— Strategies for a particular year follow from intelligence assessments. Russia's achievement of the necessary military potential depends on factors such as defense production and personnel buildup. In addition, the US presidential election will be held at the end of 2028, and the election campaign, from the Russian point of view, is a period of America's strategic vulnerability. What is happening in other regions is also important. In the coming years, China may escalate in Taiwan, which would have enormous consequences for the situation in Europe.
If the initial prerequisites change, then the deadline also changes. This could happen in 2026. Or maybe tonight. One thing is obvious: I did not see such a complex configuration of threats as now, even during the Cold War. Back then, the situation was predictable in a sense. Today we live in an era when nothing can be predicted anymore.
— How will the situation change if a ceasefire is reached in Ukraine?
— I'm afraid the pressure — and in the media too — will drop dramatically. The moment will come when new problems will surface. And we will immediately have arguments in Germany: do we really need to spend so many billions on the Bundeswehr? In my 45 years of service, I have seen such discussions more than once. They offered to save on ammunition stocks, then on spare parts, then on personnel, then on conscription. We must learn from the past. After the annexation of Crimea, we let a lot of things take their course. Kaliningrad has been actively armed for decades, and we just looked at it.
Even if the conflict in Ukraine ends tomorrow — as long as Putin is in charge in Russia and Xi is active in China — we will live under constant threat. Both reject the West and want to change the current world order. This goal goes beyond 2029, and we need a long planning horizon.
— What does "worthy of protection" mean to you in general?
— The soldiers of the Bundeswehr take the oath to serve the Federal Republic of Germany and courageously defend the right and freedom of the German people. It's not just about the world as such, but also about how we live in freedom — about our rule-of-law state, about the kind of society we built after the Second World War.
We must stand firm for this: for the preservation of our state in its national form, but above all in its unity with Europe. It seems to me that this is being neglected in the conscription debate. Too often, the conversation boils down to individual aspects and implementation issues. And we need a common understanding of what we stand for, what we serve, and what we are willing to work for. And here it is enough to open the Basic Law — everything is said there.
