German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius intends to order compulsory troop deployments to the German armoured brigade in Lithuania to fill gaps in the unit’s complement, the Defence Ministry said in Berlin on Monday.
The announcement indicated that several hundred military personnel would be affected. According to the ministry, almost 80% of the positions in the Lithuanian brigade are currently filled with volunteers.
But it noted shortages in logisticians and IT specialists, similar to the situation in the civilian economy.
Germany has pledged to permanently station a combat-ready and independently operable unit in Lithuania in response to the changed security landscape in Europe following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The brigade of 4,800 soldiers and 200 civilian staff is to be operational by next year. Permanent bases are being built in Rūdninkai south of Vilnius and Rukla, north-west of the capital.
“The principle of voluntariness remains unchanged as our guiding principle,” the ministry said. Shorter secondments, rotation models and short-term official stays are also to be examined in areas with staff shortages.
The ministry reported a marked increase in volunteer applications since the end of April, with more than 2,500 soldiers volunteering for the brigade.
Germany and Lithuania settled details in a 2024 intergovernmental agreement on stationing a combat-ready brigade in the Baltic NATO country by 2027 at the latest.