Germany votes to bring in voluntary military service programme for 18-year-olds

The article is using "voluntary" in a very questionable fashion.

> Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, has voted to introduce voluntary military service...

> The form will be mandatory for men and voluntary for women.

> The government says military service will be voluntary for as long as possible, but from July 2027, all 18-year-old men will have to take a medical exam to assess their fitness for possible military service.

> a form of compulsory military service could be considered by the Bundestag.

Well, that escalated quickly. There's nothing here that could be really described as "voluntary".

> The form will be mandatory for men and voluntary for women.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_men_are_created_equal

One, I'm not sure what American founding ideals have to do with Germany.

Two, Germany, like most countries and frankly human populations, has a male surplus in its fighting-age population [1]. This is why, historically, large socities tended to wage war with men first. (Even those that e.g. held elite units in reserve, which undermines the usual biological argument.)

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Germany#/media...