Writing in Die Welt, Bundeswehr reserve captain and former youth officer David Matei offers a powerful argument against bringing back German conscription.

“Quantity, some will think, quantity is good. Aren’t we miles away from that? And when we read reports about inadequate equipment, mustn’t we admit that we have neither quantity nor quality? Conscription changes the statistics, but not the cause of this shortage. It does not make more young people see reasons to serve this country and defend it.”

He envisions that Germany should have:

“Civil-defense exercises in municipalities, barracks that open their doors, and a voluntary year of service to society in which young people can truly choose — the Bundeswehr, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief, the fire brigade, care work. Not mandatory, but so attractive that one feels foolish not to do it. Not coercion through law, but pull through incentives. And that is likely to be more effective than any conscription. That is why I am against conscription — because I am in favor of defensive capability, and of service to values.”

His article is an excerpt from his book Germany Is Worth It: Why I Swore to Fight for My Country, published by Herder on June 15.