Defense, Crosetto’s idea: opening the army to reservists

Not compulsory conscription, but voluntary. Able to train trained and updated professionals available for the country. A specialized reserve to be used in case of need. This is the idea of ​​Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, who spoke about it again yesterday at the Adenchronos Forum, explaining that “the era in which we live and will live will increasingly require professional and trained armed forces who know that in the army life is not an easy choice and also involves losing your life. It is not a mandatory draft.” The Minister therefore invites us to open thinking on the topic that is already witnessing a series of proposals between the House and the Senate to reactivate the crane. But Crosetto’s idea is not, because “restoring the crane would have an enormous cost. It has not been quantified at all, but it It will be several billion, and in a budget like ours, where do you find it?” Therefore, the economic issue has weight. However, the potential solution postulated by the Minister is inspired by one that has already been tested and used by countries such as Israel and Switzerland but also Great Britain and Germany. Training qualified individuals who will be called upon when necessary to replenish the quota of reserve soldiers serving the country.

Today, the armed forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) can count on 150 thousand men, a number that has gradually decreased over the years since the abolition of compulsory military service and which has nevertheless contributed to the creation of increasingly specialized professionals in the armed forces, but in less than in The past, they work in different contexts and missions in Italy and abroad, and it is difficult to move if necessary. In light of the current geopolitical scenarios and beyond, significant numbers cannot be provided. But it’s not just a potential defensive problem that Crosetto has in mind. Currently, if there is a need to deploy large numbers of the army as happened during the Irpinia earthquake in 1980, when forty battalions and 17,400 soldiers were deployed, it will be difficult to reach a similar number. The Covid experience has shown how important it is to use armed forces in certain contexts. So, we need, in a way, to rethink some points of the defense system. Crosetto pointed out that the period of service “on a voluntary basis is a hypothesis that the House of Representatives and the Senate are working on, with various proposals that can be inferred from it.”

This is based on another justification that must be taken, which is precaution. Countries like Switzerland, for example, have a reserve of armed forces that have taken flight and are activated in case of need. As happened in Israel recently. Thinking about the reserve – he adds, I think we can rely on someone who is already prepared, the first reserve could be thinking about those who are already trained like the police force, even there on a volunteer basis. “It is an ongoing process: defense is developing after what happened in Ukraine and the Middle East.” But the international scenario also opens up to the great topic of the joint European army. “It takes 25-30 years to build it – the minister explained – what is the simplest way to have European armed forces? It uses the NATO system: you have Italian, Spanish, French and English forces and you make them interoperable, that is, you teach them to work together as if they were the same thing. In the same way that you built NATO, you build the European armed forces that ultimately, with one command and control center “Able to move as if she were one.”