Serbian army general staff launches initiative to reinstate compulsory military service

BELGRADE - The Serbian Armed Forces (SAF) General Staff on Thursday submitted to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic as SAF commander-in-chief an initiative to reinstate compulsory military service in the duration of up to four months, the Serbian Ministry of Defence said.

In a statement, the ministry said the initiative was aimed at boosting the defence capabilities of the SAF through rejuvenating their active and reserve personnel and advancing the filling of their ranks.

The initiative comes after a detailed review of the overall security situation and the contemporary challenges facing Serbia as a militarily neutral country, which have imposed a need to adapt the model of the filling of the ranks of the SAF to allow for strengthening the overall recruitment potential and for training a larger number of citizens to defend the country, the statement said.