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Germany has mandatory conscription of nine months for men. Women may volunteer and are allowed to perform the same jobs as men. A conscientious objector may petition for permission to do civilian "substitute service" which is usually accepted, whereupon he is expected to serve ten months. Overall, however, during the past few years, the number of men being drafted has declined significantly.
Save for a few exceptions, military service is compulsory for all men between the ages of 18 and 23 years. Those who are engaged in educational or vocational training programs prior to their military assessment are allowed to postpone service until they have completed the programs and can be called upon to perform their national duty at any time thereafter.
German law provides several options for conscientious objectors to perform alternative public service instead of a weapons-based military service:
- The main alternative is the aforementioned "substitute service" (Ersatzdienst) lasting for ten months, in which the objector is required to serve in non-combatant, state-run institutions such as the Technical Aid Corps (Technisches Hilfswerk or THW), Fire Department or other emergency assistance and crisis management agencies. While performing this service, the objector continues to fall within the purview of the German Federal Defense Force (Deutsche Bundeswehr). As such, he is termed a "combat" objector, or someone who refuses to handle a weapon, but may be otherwise deployed in times of war if necessary.
- The foregoing makes Ersatzdienst unacceptable for some conscientious objectors, who are completely opposed to being associated in any way with the military, and wish to be viewed as unavailable to the Bundeswehr under any circumstances—even in time of war. For such cases, the law provides "civilian service" (Zivildienst) as an alternative. Under this arrangement, the objector may find employment with a civilian institution that renders a public service, such as a hospital, rehabilitation center or assisted living facility for the aged. This service must be performed for twelve months. Of course, this arrangement has resulted in several controversial cases, in which the objector was unable to find employment that qualified as Zivildienst under the statute, and preferred to accept imprisonment rather that be enrolled in the military's Ersatzdienst option. Such a sentence may last for at least three years, though this maximum term is very uncommon.
- The third alternative permitted by German law is for the objector to become a foreign "development helper" (Entwicklungshelfer), which means that the person will be expected to work in a technical capacity in a recognized "developing country" for a period of not less than eighteen months. To qualify for this option, the objector has to have completed formal vocational training or an educational program that grants a recognized qualification in a marketable skill making the objector a useful asset in a developing host country. The objector is responsible for personally making all of the arrangements in order to engage in this alternative service. Many objectors who chose this option, become so engrossed in the developmental needs of such countries that they stay abroad many years longer than the legal requirement. The disproportionately high percentage of German nationals found in many international aid, conservation, medical and technical assistance organizations active in developing countries may be directly attributable to this trend.
Another provision allows the third son of a family to be completely exonerated from military service, if his older brothers participated. Of course, voluntary enrolment is always possible.
The ongoing political debate over whether the German Federal Defense Force should be converted into a purely volunteer-based, professional army raises questions about the military draft policy. Since the current process selects ever-decreasing numbers of men from each succeeding generation, conflicting views abound regarding the effect of the selection, both in terms of the overall quality of the force and the general fairness of the system. The final decision will most likely be informed by the enhanced or even reduced roles that such a new "army" would be expected to play in German society in the years to come.
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