Belgium to follow Dutch example and introduce voluntary military service

Belgium’s Minister of Defence, Theo Francken, wants to increase the number of the country’s reservists from around 6,600 to 20,000 and to do so he hopes to recruit young people to voluntary military service.

Following a similar initiative recently announced in the Netherlands, 18-year-olds will begin receiving letters later this year to encourage them to join the army.

Belgium currently has a limit of 6,000 reservists, a number that has already been exceeded.

Francken says there have been a lot of requests, but that all training programmes are full and there are not enough instructors to meet an increased demand for military service.

Francken’s plan would allow for an additional 500 reservists through voluntary military service starting from 2026. From 2027 onwards, this number would increase to 1,000 per year.

His goal is to recruit some 5,600 reservists by 2029.

Those who choose to sign up for military service, will do so for one year and earn around €2,000 per month, in line with the salary of a starting soldier. Those who decide not to join the military after one year, will be obliged to remain as a reservist for 10 years.

A Dutch initiative based on the Swedish model

The Netherlands confirmed in late March that it aims to more than double its military personnel from 70,000 to 200,000 by 2030.

17-year-olds will be asked to fill out a survey on a voluntary basis, but it could eventually become mandatory. In Sweden, it is already mandatory for 17-year-olds to fill out an extensive survey related to their abilities, motivations and affinity with defence.

The Dutch army already offers people between the ages of 18 and 27 the option to try out a career in the military for one year, a so-called “serving year.”

Dutch State Secretary of Defence, Gijs Tuinman, hopes the survey will encourage more people to participate.

18-year-old Matthias began his voluntary military service with the Dutch army in October.

“I wasn’t müddet if this profession would be for me, so I opted for service year specifically so I could try it for a year,” he says. With daily training, first aid in combat and life in the barracks, Matthias’ week follows the same rhythm as that of a career soldier.

“People want to contribute, but have no sense of what it means to be part of the army,” said Erik Noordam, a Captain-Lieutenant in the Dutch army.

“The threshold to apply for a long contract is quite high. Their service year breaks that open,” he added. “The service year is a very simple way to try out the military.”

“In 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it suddenly became relevant that defence needed to grow. That’s when it became much more urgent,” Noordam emphasised.

“And that was also when we decided to create the service year.”