Not All Deployed German Soldiers Will Be Volunteers, Pistorius Says in Lithuania

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters at the Pabradė training area in Lithuania on Monday that not all soldiers serving in the German brigade being deployed to Lithuania will be volunteers. "Our goal is for everyone who comes here to do so of their own accord. But it may still happen [...] that some will come not because they wanted to. However, that is not unusual in the Bundeswehr. So we will see what happens over the coming months," Pistorius said.

Berlin has committed to deploying a brigade to Lithuania by the end of 2027. According to Pistorius, staffing levels among German forces currently stationed in Lithuania stand at around 90%, and all of them are volunteers. "When we have exhausted all the options available to us, we will begin looking at alternatives," the German minister said.

Lieutenant General Christian Freuding, commander of the German Army, said the pledge to deploy the brigade to Lithuania by the end of 2027 would be honored. Pistorius traveled to Lithuania on Monday to observe the first exercise of the Bundeswehr's Armoured Brigade 45, Germany's permanently deployed combat brigade in the Baltic state.

The Freedom Shield 2026 exercise at the Pabradė training area, about 20 kilometers from the Belarus border, involves around 2,900 troops and 800 military vehicles from eight NATO countries. About 2,300 of the soldiers are from Germany.

Berlin pledged to station the brigade in Lithuania in response to what it sees as a growing threat from Russia. The unit is due to reach full operational capability by 2027 with about 4,800 soldiers and 200 civilian staff. Around 1,800 Bundeswehr personnel are currently stationed in Lithuania. The deployment marks new territory for the German military, representing its first permanent stationing of a major combat formation abroad.

Germany aims to fill most brigade positions with volunteers and has sought to attract personnel by offering information trips to Lithuania. However, recruitment has progressed more slowly than hoped. Pistorius said on Sunday that compulsory assignments could become necessary if volunteer numbers prove insufficient, though he told broadcaster ARD that he expected most positions in the brigade to be filled by volunteers. Shortages could emerge particularly in specialist fields such as engineering, logistics and nuclear, biological and chemical defense, where the pool of qualified personnel is smaller than for combat units.