German Army Struggles to Find Fit Recruits

A new voluntary military service program in the German armed forces is facing challenges due to the low physical fitness of applicants. According to internal statistics from the Ministry of Defense for the second quarter of 2026, medical examinations deemed over 25% of applicants unfit for service; of the 1,490 people assessed, 359 failed to pass. Spiegel reports.

The results pose an obstacle for Minister Boris Pistorius’s department, which had expected an influx of more physically fit volunteers, since health status was already indicated in the initial questionnaires.

The project is also facing low interest among young people. Of the 169,000 people contacted in the second quarter, only a fraction of the applicants filled out a questionnaire expressing interest, while more than 55,000 young people stated directly that they were not interested in joining the military.

Critics from the left party (Die Linke) point out that plans to increase troop strength from 184,000 to 265,000 have thus far failed to meet expectations. They argue that “there is no question of a successful start to voluntary military service” and that conscription remains “a realistic and frightening scenario for the younger generation”.

(max)