Germany To Increase Military Size in Wake of Russian Threat

                                    
Germany's minister of defence announced the first buildup of military personnel since the Cold War ended 25 years ago.
Ursula von der Leyen said that a "quarter century of shrinking the Bundeswehr is over." The plan is to expand the force numbers by 14,300 and that of civilian employees by 4,400.
However, while the demand for civilian employees will be met, the ministry expects to fill only 7,000 new military positions and create 5,000 positions by internal adjustments of the armed forces. This leaves a gap of 2,300.
According to a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence (MoD), these mainly high-skilled jobs probably won't be staffed due to the tight labor market. Three-quarters of the new positions are assigned to the fighting force. The remaining quarter is assigned to training, offices and headquarters.
The increase in troop strength comes in a time of a new Russian threat in the east and political and military turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East.
As a result, the German troops are deployed to a number of mandated foreign missions, such as Afghanistan and Mali.