Government Proposes Gender-Equal Conscription and Extended Service Period in Defense Reforms

Equalizing conscription and extending the conscription period are a couple of the measures that the Government is proposing for the next negotiation under the defense agreement.

The Government presented the measures at a press conference on Wednesday.

Conscription will be equalized so that both men and women become conscripted. Until now, only men have been conscripted, while women could choose to enlist in the military.

The Government also plans to extend conscription to 11 months, consisting of a five-month basic training period as a starting point, followed by operational service and additional training for the conscripts. However, this does not apply to special services such as the Royal Life Guards and the Guard Hussars, which will continue to have different arrangements, although adjustments may be made depending on operational needs.

Additionally, the Government will call up slightly more conscripts per year than today. The Government aims to have around 5,000 conscripts who can, among other things, staff units in the Army, Air Force, and Navy. Furthermore, the Government proposes that a portion of the conscripts will serve as conscripted sergeants or lieutenants.