Military

German military turns to under 18s to boost recruitment

According to a Trendence Institut www.trendence.com survey of 20,000 school students across the country, the military is now considered Germany's third most attractive employer, behind sportswear maker Adidas and the police in first place.

Overall, the army spent about 35 million euros ($40 million) on recruitment last year, more than double its spending in 2011, the year compulsory military service ended, annual parliament reports about the Bundeswehr showed.

“The Bundeswehr today is a volunteer army ... Therefore, it must approach young people to win them over,” a spokeswoman for the personnel management department at the Bundeswehr said.