Oliver Towfigh Nia
21 April 2026•Update: 21 April 2026
- By 2035, Bundeswehr is set to grow to at least 260,000 active-duty service members and 200,000 reservists
President of the German Reservists' Association Bastian Ernst on Tuesday called for a significant increase in the age limit for reservists to strengthen Germany's defense capabilities.
“We should raise the age limit for reservists from 65 to 70,” he told the media network RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland, noting that the retirement age is also rising.
“People are staying active longer. We shouldn’t waste the resources offered by people with life and professional experience. And if we’re complaining about a shortage of young talent on one end of the age pyramid, we should also make improvements on the other end,” he added.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is expected to present Germany’s military strategy and the Bundeswehr’s new capability profile on Wednesday aimed at showing how his country will address military threats.
Bundeswehr reservists are not currently required to participate in military exercises. Like their employers, they must give their consent to participate in a military exercise. This principle of voluntariness has long been the subject of criticism.
By 2035, the Bundeswehr is set to grow to at least 260,000 active-duty service members and 200,000 reservists. This reserve force is to be built up primarily from the men and women performing the new mandatory military service, for which the legal framework has been in place since the beginning of the year.
According to Ernst, it is currently unclear exactly how many reservists there are. What is known is that 8 to 9 million people have served in the Bundeswehr, and that around 60,000 reservists have been called up—meaning they are firmly scheduled by the Bundeswehr and thus readily available. The Reservists’ Association has approximately 110,000 members.
