Germany needs a bigger military, but young people are divided on serving

Kiel, Germany - On the FGS Pegnitz, a German mine-hunting boat off the northern Baltic coast, a sharp command cut through the sea air.

“Portside 10!” shouted Mathis Kramer, 17. “Portside 20!” Kramer shouted moments later, as the navy vessel tilted into a tight turn toward a bright orange buoy - today’s stand-in for a man overboard. Another would-be sailor leaned over the rail and hauled it aboard, water streaming from the “rescue.”

Kramer was among a dozen young Germans spending a week on a “taster” program with their country’s Navy. The initiative is part of a nationwide effort to boost enlistment, aiming to attract 40,000 recruits annually by 2031 and expand the Bundeswehr, Germany’s federal armed forces, to 260,000 active personnel from about 182,000 in the next decade.

Unlike most