Anušić: First conscripts for compulsory military service in barracks from January

Defense Minister Ivan Anušić announced that he expects the laws on defense and service in the armed forces to be voted on in Parliament next week, after which preparations and calls for recruits will begin, and he expects the first conscripts in barracks as early as January next year.

“Discussions on the Defense Act and the Armed Forces Service Act at the Defense and Rebalance Committee are prerequisites for parliamentary debate and voting as early as next week, and after that, the implementation of the law will begin,” minister Ivan Anušić announced ahead of the Defense Committee session.

In November and December, he added, they will begin with the necessary activities and calls for basic military training, and from January 1 next year, they expect the first conscripts in barracks.

He said that this also means that the last generation in Požega is now undergoing voluntary military training.

“Basic military training will last two months,” he said, announcing that he would soon announce which training the recruits will undergo and which skills they will learn during that period. He also pointed out that before the training, they will undergo a medical examination to determine whether they are fit for training, but that examination will not include testing for opiates because, he notes, they cannot legally do so without their consent.

Although there have been suggestions that mandatory military training last longer, Anušić explained that they decided on two months because since 2008 there has been voluntary military service in which a volunteer conscript undergoes all basic training in two months and acquires all the skills that a soldier-shooter must have.

“There is already,” he emphasized, “an established model and framework, and the interpretation and advice of the instructors who work intensively with them and train them for two months is that this is quite sufficient and that three or four months are not needed to acquire these skills, but it is not a problem to extend the period if it proves necessary.”

“In two months, they will acquire all the basic military skills, both about survival and self-defense, motor skills, physical fitness, nutrition, and if the conscript decides to go further, then they will sign a contract for an active military person and after that they will go to specialized military training,” the minister said.

Anušić said that military training will cost around 20 million euros, and for civilian training, he added, the Ministry of the Interior should be asked. He only noted that the compensation for those serving civilian service will be significantly lower than for conscripts in barracks.

In addition to his ministry, the ministries of the interior and health will be involved in the entire process.

Source: HRT