[Skybird]

German'S unadmitted main reason to stick to this system is becasue those who reject to serve can do that at the price of serving in a social service, also almost for free, of course. The social service ("Zivis"=Zivildienstleistende; nursery, ambulance driver, home service for old people, etc.) is heavily depending on this system and tailored itself to depend on this steady basis of helping personnel that comes all for free. Parties have failed to tackle this unlucky link between social and military service. Going to a professional army would delete the personnel pool for the helping service that never has learned to manage it's finance without these free workers. expose them to market regulation would increase the misery that has become apparent in the service and treatmeent with old people even more, the whole branch is going down the drain, it seems. Noone with a healthy mind would easily wish to become old and dependant/ill in this society! Loosing the Zivis would be a major blow as long as not an obligatory year in social services is implemented to replace military service. And here the debate starts: if it is just to send the men alone to this social service and leave girls our, who in principle can do that kind of work, too, it's is discriminatory towards male sex and a ignoration of equaolity of chances for both sexes; and if girls are allowed, then the other side argues that then they would be the ones treated unjust, for now they would have a double effort: social work now, children and family later. Most politicians avoid this theme like the pleague. It is also a deeply rooted fear of Germans. We once had a professional army, and we know where it lead to: scaring efficiency, as even the enemies of NaziGermany admitted, but also: Hitler, personal cult, an army not under control by the people. The development in America since the end of the second WW and Eisenhower are often referred to in defense of the current system. also, often there is voiced doubt by the critics that a professional army would reduce costs, they say they would go up. I cannot judge that. the most preferred argumkent of politicians is that the service brings together the youth of all federal countries and that it forms a unique interqaction between different regional temperaments. What a pathetic BS! As to what i have been told who went through it the service was wasting time, boredom, and all that poltically stressed idealism nowhere to see. It's babbling for the mikes only, I suppose.

When I cam to Muenster in 2000, I met a Major of the German tank army on a meeting where we were guests, it was no offcial military thing, but private. We srtarted to talk and he ended in admitting with a grim but also sad smile: "I hope this army as a whole never has to go to war as long as it is in it's current shape. Ich kenne Bataillone, die müßten die Hälfte ithres Fahrzeugparks fleddern, um die andere Hälfte zum Laufen zu bringen" (difficult for me to translate: he said that he knows bataillons where they have to cripple half of their vehicles in order to make the other half of their vehicles drivable again).

I personally think that Germany is more than ripe for a pro army, and would like to see the British army as an example for that. I would like to see size shrinking if needed for paying for better and newer equipment. Parts of German equipment are rotten somethings nowadays, nothing more, and this in a time where crazy politicians have started to shuffle German troops around the globe for vague political ambitions only. Idiots. German army has many examples of very good and innovatiove equipment, but most of them are not available in combat-efficient numbers, if combat efficient would be understood as able to defend a country in a full scale war with the whole body of the army. That'S why our international expeditions are very daunting efforts. The German contingent in Afghanistan is unable to supply it's own logistical needs and is heavily depending on the help of others. In case of emergency this troop also would not be able to hold it's ground for onger than just 24-36 hours, but also would need other nation's to get them out. some years ago a German frigate was send to participate in an international excercise. To get that ship into operational staus it was needed to rip vital spareparts out of two or three olther ships that then were non-operational for the months to come. Parts of our armed force live "von der Hand in den Mund".

It's high time to skip the conscript system and go professional, also to not longer understand the BW as a humanitarian help agency, but as what it is: an army, and it should be finan cially supported as that. this does not mean that I like to see the BW beeing scattered around the globe in silly adventures here and there. It's a moral problem for me: if yopu tell a soldier to risk his life, you have the dfamn obligation to give him the best training, informationa nd equipment and supply money can buy. If you do not do that, you have no right to put demands to him.