German army struggles to get Gen Z recruits ‘ready for war’
-
It’s an amassment of stupid people who can’t make it in the private sector. No one with a quarter of a brain can stand being in that organisation.
Sounds a bit like the German military. Does Swiss German also know the term "Zivilversager"?
Ziviluntauglich. Wer nicht Militärdienstfähig ist wird bei uns als "untauglich" klassifiziert, daher der Begriff.
-
I’m a millennial who was happy to not be required to go through military training back when it was still a thing but already phasing out. Bundeswehr was a thing for gun fanatics and manly men, nothing that was actually necessary. I was a pacifist. My work values today are now close to what Gen Z apparently has. Work is simply not the center of my life anymore.
These days I’m wondering if a 40 year old man (in better shape than my 18 year old self though) can still enlist voluntarily because I want to fight for our European values. I’d rather die in battle than being occupied by power hungry dictators.
This article I read some hours ago is relevant.
-
Better late than never
Absolutely.
-
This article I read some hours ago is relevant.
Very interesting, thank you!
-
You're absolutely not too old to join the Bundeswehr. Depending on your life situation you could opt to do a FWD (voluntary military service) for at least 7 months or be trained as untrained civilian in the "Ungedient" programme in distinct blocks to not impact your day to day life so much. I would advise to contact your local recruitment office and talk to them, you can get their guidance on your individual situation without signing any commitments.
Thanks for the info!
-
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/27232360
Perhaps it's the military that is outdated.
I've been thinking about that several decades ago, watching my friends come back from the military training with completely useless skills regardless of their ranks. The "war time" skillset and communication are based on ideals from the 1950s. It's been allowed to exist as a separate culture inside the military only because the authorities inside the military keeps repeating the same ideas through generations.
There's no doubt that military work does require a very efficient and brutally direct communication, but the top down chain of command and hierachy often fails to take advantage of more modern skills where communication happens more efficiently across networks instead of tree-shaped structures, and where every node is important, not just as a link in a chain.
Businesses have had many of the same experiences with generation Z. They don't want to play the role of the pawn in chess and would rather walk away than take orders blindly. I don't blame them, but it's obviously a bad starting point for army recruitment. The military will have to come up with something new to address the issue.
-
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/27232360
Fuck war! No one should be in the military, those who cause wars should go and fight them instead of sending others.
-
I am Swiss. Let me tell you, our army is a joke. The system is there but it's only on paper.
At least your Air Force will fly at night now...
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/swiss-air-force-finally-on-call-around-the-clock/46253116
-
Fuck war! No one should be in the military, those who cause wars should go and fight them instead of sending others.
Sure, but unless you can get Putin to come out, someone has to kill several thousand Russians each week
-
Don't need to tell me but one thing is visible and tangible everyday and the other thing is something way more abstract for most.
Bucha isn't abstract.
-
Perhaps it's the military that is outdated.
I've been thinking about that several decades ago, watching my friends come back from the military training with completely useless skills regardless of their ranks. The "war time" skillset and communication are based on ideals from the 1950s. It's been allowed to exist as a separate culture inside the military only because the authorities inside the military keeps repeating the same ideas through generations.
There's no doubt that military work does require a very efficient and brutally direct communication, but the top down chain of command and hierachy often fails to take advantage of more modern skills where communication happens more efficiently across networks instead of tree-shaped structures, and where every node is important, not just as a link in a chain.
Businesses have had many of the same experiences with generation Z. They don't want to play the role of the pawn in chess and would rather walk away than take orders blindly. I don't blame them, but it's obviously a bad starting point for army recruitment. The military will have to come up with something new to address the issue.
Our time is one where traditional ways aren't worth it, or in many cases even possible
-
As human civilisation, we all lost honor, accountability, pride of a well done job.
Decades of neoliberalism glorifying boundless egotism as the ultimate freedom and elevating limitless consumption to the highest achievement made sure of it.
I think we also lack small communities.
Definitely. Unfortunately, neoliberalism with all its deregulation has also been systematically destroying the small scale economy that has kept small communities alive. Working class people can't afford services of local small businesses anymore, and have to look for work further and further away from their homes. In rural areas hit especially hard by this (politically wanted) structural change, this has already lead to a massive depopulation, leaving behind only the destitute who can barely afford a sense of community, and a handful of wealthy people who enjoy owning a cheap weekend home on the countryside just as much as they love to shit on the community it is located in.
There's no pride in today's workplace. It's underpaid demeaning work where hard work gets you nowhere
-
We live in a hyper-individualistic society which is self-centred. This is only exacerbated by social media, where attention and being the main character is more important than ever.
The new generation is living more and more in society. Instead of being part of society. Being part of something bigger is uncommon nowadays. Which makes participation in something as extreme as a war unfathomable.
If you look at countries with high levels of civil sense like Taiwan. We see school uniforms and military service. Kids are being raised to be part of a free and democratic society, not to just live in it.Personally I've always been a bullied outcast. Society didn't want me, why do I owe them shit?
-
It can only be a good thing if the enemy shares the same values, which is not the case with Russia.
Heat pump installers fight against Putin's power source: oil and gas. That's half the GDP
-
There's no pride in today's workplace. It's underpaid demeaning work where hard work gets you nowhere
Yes, and, as usual, the fish stinks from the head. Most businesses are led by a bunch of dimwitted idiots who got their position by inheritance and/or nepotism and breathe that neoliberal spirit of boundless egotism. They will happily claim the work of others as their own, and wholeheartedly believe that lie themselves. Of course the underlings whose sole purpose is to entertain their whims aren't worth of any decent pay nor recognition, and heavens forbid you allow them independent thought.
With states, it's not any different. (conincidentally, those neoliberal cleptocrats think states should be run like buisinesses)
-
Because it's going to get a LOT worse once a greedy dictator decides to annex another country.
When a state is annexed, the people who will lose out the most will be the people who own property which is enforced through the laws of that state. Dying to protect greedy bastard's property from other greedy bastard is not in my interest. The greedy bastards can send themselves and their own family to protect their property.
-
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/27232360
Kids were never ready for war. We just never bothered asking them.
-
Bucha isn't abstract.
Can you not understand what I'm saying or do you not want to?
-
At least your Air Force will fly at night now...
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/swiss-air-force-finally-on-call-around-the-clock/46253116
With planes the orange fascist can turn off at will
-
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/27232360
Brit here, not sure how it is in Germany but the UK fucked up recruitment with two main problems (from my perspective as a member of Gen Z)
- We treat veterans like shit the same as the US does
- We functionally have no territorial army, militia or equivelent, we used to but now those are elegible for overseas deployment which ruins the entire purpose of signing up to be better able to defend your homeland.
