Germany’s Defence Ministry has designated locations for 24 centres to assess candidates for the army – with the first centre expected to open later this year – as the military enacts a military service law to expand the size of the Bundeswehr.
Two of the centres are planned in the central city of Kassel and the western city of Wiesbaden.
From mid-2027, young people are to be assessed there for their physical, mental and intellectual suitability for the Bundeswehr.
Centres outside military premises are to be established at 16 existing military locations: besides Kassel and Wiesbaden, these are Bonn, Dresden, Hamburg, Kiel, Koblenz, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Neubrandenburg, Nuremberg, Oldenburg, Potsdam, Saarlouis, Schwerin and Ulm.
A further eight conscription assessment centres are to be established in Bielefeld, Braunschweig, Dortmund, Jena, Kempten, Offenburg, Regensburg and Würzburg.
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Germany reintroduced a voluntary military service programme last year in an effort to raise troop numbers in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine and new NATO targets.
Since the beginning of the year, male 18-year-olds have been required to fill out a questionnaire evaluating their readiness to serve.
