There are even more innovations in the Lithuanian reform of conscripts: it will be harder to avoid service, and students will not escape either

   "Every year, out of 84 thousand conscripts, only 3.5 thousand young people are actually drafted into the army - the rest fall out due to the applicable exceptions or they do not meet the health requirements.

 

     The new conscription reform prepared by the Ministry of National Defense (KAM) will foresee not only several service alternatives, but also the exceptions and requirements - some young people will no longer be able to postpone service after the reform comes into effect.

 

     There are many innovations

 

     Colonel Ramūnas Švažas, director of the Military Service and Personnel Department of the Ministry of National Defense (KAM), told the news portal lrytas.lt that the reform, which could come into effect from 2027, foresees several service alternatives. When the reform came into effect, as now, young people with primary or secondary education would be called to perform the initial compulsory military service, but half of the conscripts would serve for six months, the rest for nine.

 

     After six months of service, young men would receive basic, individual training and the smallest part of collective training (section), then be transferred to the active reserve. The rest would serve for another three months, and in addition to basic, individual training, they would also undergo the training of specialists and junior commanders, and would receive a larger part of collective training. For these additional three months, conscripts would receive the salary of a professional military service soldier without social guarantees.

 

     The government has approved increased defense funding: an additional 97.5 million euros is allocated from this year's budget.  Which conscripts would serve the full nine months would be decided based on their abilities and competencies. Another innovation expected after the reform is the plan to call up 22-24-year-old young people with higher education, whose specialties are lacking in the army, for a three-month training. 

 

This could be representatives of technical, engineering or medical fields. 

 

After three months of basic training, they would be released into reserve. 

 

It is also expected that after the reform comes into force, students aged 18-22 will no longer be able to postpone their service. 

 

"The service would be compulsory and there would be two options for doing it: junior commander training for those who would like to qualify as reserve officers, or voluntary service. When conducting these trainings, the term would be three years or 45 weekends: 15 weekends per year," R. Švažas introduced. It is also planned to provide opportunities for those young people who do not meet the health requirements to join voluntarily. "We want to offer a new way of performing the service for those young people who are unfit according to health requirements, but who want to contribute to the strengthening of the country's defense, in this case to perform their duty in an unarmed way." We evaluate the capabilities of the army, how many such young people there could be, what specializations they could perform. We often talk about cyber conscripts, drone managers, maybe we will find opportunities to connect them to the administration, supply units", R. Švažas named.

     Exemptions and health requirements are being reviewed

      R. Švažas admitted that the Law on Military Conscription no longer meets expectations, therefore the ministry intends to review both the exemptions for conscripts and the health requirements. "The law provides for a number of exceptions and postponements for those who are dismissed from service. Those groups are really many and diverse: convicts, disabled, raising children, and unfit for health," he said. 

 

The representative of the Ministry noticed that at the beginning of the year there were 84 thousand persons on the list of conscripts, but due to various exemptions, dismissals, and people who could not be found, only 3.5 thousand were called to the service in the final list.

 

According to R. Švaž, 20 thousand individuals postpone their service due to studies, 13.5 thousand. postpones due to disproportionately large damage to their personal or public interests, with 10 thousand. young people cannot be contacted.

 

      More than half of young people do not meet the health requirements. Although the ministry will reassess the health requirements, R. Švažas emphasized that there is no unequivocal solution in this case. "If we compare with Estonia, the requirements in Lithuania are somewhat stricter, and still young people experience physical difficulties and overloads while performing their duties. Therefore, we would like the health of young people to be really good, and not to cripple a young person in fulfilling his duty to the motherland. In the Estonian army, the medical requirements are somewhat milder, but during the service, over 30% the conscripts are falling apart. They do not complete training, they experience health problems. Courts, compensation payments and litigation begin. Therefore, the stick has two ends - we are very concerned about the health of young people, perhaps these requirements are a little stricter, but we definitely have the question of the review of the requirement on our agenda, and we will offer one or another solutions", the colonel assured.

 

     Worrying numbers

 

     According to R. Švažas, the goal of the draft reform is not only to increase the active force reserve up to 47 thousand soldiers in the 2030s. "By proposing this reform, we want to make the service more attractive, provide opportunities for choice, and differentiate the service over time. Also, to create a relationship between society and the army, so that citizens are ready and able to protect not only themselves, but also their loved ones," said the representative of the ministry. "Conscripts make up a small part of the army - about 17 percent, but a very significant part of them later become professional military service officers. These improvements, we believe, would make it possible to replenish both the ranks of professional military service and the ranks of volunteers, and almost double the active personnel reserve," he added.

 

      Although the number of conscripts voluntarily serving has decreased, R. Švažas drew attention to the growing number of people who are determined to contribute to the country's defense in one way or another. "The issues of patriotism and citizenship education are a cause for concern. (...) We should start developing patriotism from the family, kindergarten, school, community groups, universities, so that opinion changes, so that the young man joins the army already guided by duty, understanding, patriotism", hoped R. Švažas. The Seimas will still have to vote on the proposed changes. It is planned that the so-called conscription reform could be in the Seimas sitting room during the spring session."

 

3.5 thousands are serving each year, 10 thousands disappear, and cannot be contacted. Amazing.

 

Drone operators with poor health would get only cheap Chinese drones with very short distance of flying. Therefore such drone operators should be very close to the enemy formations. This is very dangerous position to be - as soon as these drones start flying, enemy's artillery kills the drone operator. What an irony - volunteer with poor health would become drone operator and would be killed first.