Germany needs to look abroad for recruits as it seeks to marginally improve its marginal military:
Seven years after Germany scrapped conscription, its defence chief has said employing EU citizens is "an option" to fill expert posts.
Army general inspector Eberhard Zorn said the forces had to "look in all directions in times of a lack of qualified personnel", such as doctors and IT specialists.
The armed forces have been beset by years of under-investment.
Germany aims to increase its military by 21,000 personnel by 2025.
It has also pledged to raise its defence budget from 1.2% to to 1.5% of its gross domestic product by 2024, in the face of criticism from President Donald Trump that it does not meet the Nato target of 2% of GDP.
The Germans say it is just a program for certain specialists, but Germany is already infecting NATO armies by absorbing entire NATO brigades into their force structure.
Maybe America should have a rival program to make potential NATO military power real within the American military.
West Germany used to have a good military in the Cold War. Heck, even East Germany had a small but good military in comparison to the rest of the Soviet-controlled Warsaw Pact forces. Now united Germany is an economic powerhouse but a weak and unreliable military ally badly in need of beatings with the clue bat.
Russian propaganda to encourage pacifism in Germany, as this writer notes, has done wonders to cripple Germany's military.
