Defence aims at a voluntary conscription of 7,000 people, including foreigners
The volunteer contingent will be recruited from among 'civilians (25-35 years old)', with a '12-month term of service extendable by a further 12 months'
The defence reform, expected on the government's table in March in the form of a bill, is gradually taking shape. According to Repubblica, in the very first draft prepared by the Strategic Committee appointed by Minister Guido Crosetto to prepare an initial text, there are plans to increase recruitment in the Armed Forces by at least 100,000 units between now and 2040 and, in addition to voluntary conscription, the creation of a permanent reserve of 15,000 units by 'reactivating' all the structures abolished by the old compulsory conscription: from medical checks to training and the possibility of 12-month military service (the latter is still voluntary in the first instance). There will also be a voluntary conscription of 7,000, with the possibility of recruiting 'legal foreign citizens resident in Italia'. The voluntary contingent will be recruited from among 'civilians (25-35 years old)', with a '12-month term of service that can be extended by a further 12 months'. Repubblica also writes that there will be compensation of around 6,000 euro gross per year. A fourth branch of the Armed Forces is also planned, dedicated to cybersecurity, with the possibility of hiring 'highly specialised non-military personnel'.
A contingent of 15 thousand reservists
The objective, reads the document viewed by the newspaper, is 'to create an organic model of military personnel equal to 275,000 units of the army, navy and air force, in permanent service and in fixed-term detention, of which 15,000 belong to a contingent of operational reserve in permanent service'. The 15 thousand permanent reserve contingent will be eligible for economic incentives, will be immediately callable and subject to medical examinations.
New recruitments for the Carabinieri
The draft presented to Crosetto by the Select Committee envisages new hirings for the Carabinieri, with 'an increase of 2,600 in the total number of personnel' and 'a multi-year extraordinary recruitment plan of 7,600'.
Shopping
The cost of new hires for the Armed Forces when fully operational - from the current 170,000 to 275,000 - is around seven billion euros. The total expenditure for the Armed Forces would thus rise from EUR 8 to 15 billion.
