At the beginning of 2026, the Bundestag decided to take the first step towards reactivating compulsory military service. Once again, buzzwords were more important than arguments in the political debate. It was cannon fodder versus war fitness. It wasn't just the opponents of compulsory military service who were using manslaughter arguments, the other side didn't argue much more differentiated either. After the student demonstrations, all the sweeping judgements about Generation Z were brought out and it was stated that the youth of today refuse to do their duty.

No wonder young people protest when they are put under an obligation they don't understand. We have failed to declare defence for decades and now some have exercised their democratic right to demonstrate.

Incidentally, this is the first major success of the conscription debate. For the first time in a long time, young people are asking themselves whether they want to serve in the Bundeswehr. Not all of them will answer no to this question. In any case, there weren't very many at the demonstrations. And we shouldn't blame them for their behaviour either, but discuss defence with them.

Let's imagine the countries of the world as schoolchildren in the playground. Big and small, weak and strong, self-confident and fearful are playing there. And there are a few bullies who want to rule the schoolyard. While the strong and confident are left in peace, the weak and timid have to hand over their pocket money.

Germany appears there as a pudgy, pale boy, a welcome victim for the Bullys. Fortunately, he has money and can come to terms with them. What's more, he has a strong protector who has prevented the worst from happening. It's just a pity that this protector suddenly makes common cause with one of the worst Bullys.

Good advice is expensive now. Giving up is not an option, because then life would become completely unbearable. The only chance is a crash course in self-defence, combined with mental coaching.

But what should compulsory military service contribute to this crash course? In wars characterised by drones and artificial intelligence, can young people who have been briefly trained make a meaningful contribution to defence at all?

The most obvious example is drones. First of all: unmanned does not mean without personnel. It's not just a few people sitting in the basement controlling huge fleets of drones. Instead, drones are deployed in a decentralised manner by small squads. You need tech-savvy nerds who are familiar with consoles and joysticks, strong guys who can quickly dig new shelters, and others who like to drive off-road vehicles.

It is said that each Ukrainian brigade has its own troop unit with around 800 soldiers, a considerable number for which there is sufficient potential, especially in Generation Z.

It's similar with homeland security. It will take a lot of people to operate new types of defence systems. The sheer volume of critical civilian infrastructure to be protected is enormous. Then there is the operation and protection of the German hub with airfields, naval bases and much more.

In view of the unavoidable damage and losses, it is not just a question of additional soldiers, but also of personnel for aid organisations such as the THW, Red Cross and fire brigade.

Despite this obvious need for more soldiers, we hear that it would be better to recruit soldiers without coercion by making the Bundeswehr more attractive. We have not managed to do this in 15 years and should therefore recognise that it is time to get off this dead horse.

Compulsory military service is therefore a key component of our self-defence crash course. It puts the armed forces and civilian organisations in a position in terms of personnel to perform all the new tasks to the extent required.

It is also an important contribution to mental coaching. The whole of society has to deal with the issue of external security again when sons and daughters are affected by compulsory military service. And finally, for many young people it is a first step out of the parental home and therefore part of growing up. After all, as the sailor used to say to his boatswain on the speedboat: "Thank you, Schmadding, the navy has made a man out of me."

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Rear Admiral (ret.) Karsten Schneider is President of the German Maritime Institute.