Romania offers paid military training to rejuvenate ageing reserve

The Romanian government approved on Friday (3 October) a draft law introducing voluntary military training for young people in order to compensate for the ageing reserve of the armed forces. The aim is for the army to have 120,000 people with basic military training in case of a potential conflict.

The voluntary service will last for four months, during which participants will receive a monthly allowance. Upon completion, volunteers will receive a lump sum of around €5,400 and will be enrolled in the reserve.

The draft law is expected to be debated and voted on in parliament by the end of the year.

At present, the Ministry of National Defence relies on around 70,000 active personnel and 40,000 reservists, including individuals of an age group that would not be an option in the event of war, the broadcaster Digi 24 noted.

The Romanian army has only 3,000 voluntary reservists trained over the past two years.

Under the approved draft law, Romanian citizens – men and women between the ages of 18 and 35 – will be able to apply to the Ministry of National Defence to voluntarily join a basic military training programme lasting up to four months. The training is intended for individuals who have not previously completed active military service and are not already part of the reserve, according to Agerpres.

During their participation, volunteers will undergo a medical and fitness check beforehand and will be entitled to free accommodation, equipment, food, medical care and medicines, as well as a monthly allowance. The salary will be between 4,000 and 5,000 lei (€787–984) per month. Volunteers will also be subject to military laws and regulations.

Those who successfully complete the programme will receive a final allowance equivalent to three gross average salaries for the current year – 27,000 lei (€5,314).

Subsequently, military centres will register them and enrol them in the operational reserve. The maximum number of available places for voluntary training will be determined each year by the defence minister depending on the approved budget, the draft law states.

Rejuvenating the operational reserve

Defense Minister Ionuț Moșteanu and Chief of the Defense Staff General Gheorghiță Vlad met on Thursday with representatives of the leadership of some associative structures of military personnel in reserve and retirement and with representatives of some trade union confederations active in the defense industry, the Ministry of Defense reported.

The discussions mainly addressed topics of interest related to military pensions, legislation in the field, as well as the establishment of periodic working groups in which the main problems faced by military reservists would be discussed in detail.

Moștianu said after the government meeting that voluntary military service is a “real necessity” in Romania, as the army’s reserve needs to be rejuvenated, according to Ziare.ro.

“The draft law on preparing the population for defence starts from a real necessity, because the operational reserve is ageing. There has been no mandatory military service in Romania since 1 January 2007 and every year we lose people from the reserve. This year more than 120,000 military personnel will be decommissioned, next year another 118,000, and in 2027 another 111,000. That means about 350,000 soldiers leaving the reserve as they have exceeded the legal retirement age of 55,” the minister explained.

He noted that, following government approval, the draft will now move to parliament for debate and vote. The intention is for it to be adopted by the legislature before the end of this year, according to Hotnews.ro.

“It is necessary to rejuvenate this reserve of the Romanian army, which is why the law establishes a new form of short-term voluntary military service. For four months, any young man or woman aged between 18 and 35 will be able to do a voluntary placement, become familiar with the army, train with weapons, and remain in the operational reserve. Periodically, annually, there will be refresher trainings and exercises with new weaponry we will acquire,” Moștianu added.

Romania joined NATO in 2004. In the following decades, the country reduced the size of its armed forces from 350,000 to 70,000 (plus 10,000 civilian staff), abolished compulsory military service and rotated more than 50,000 soldiers in missions abroad, according to the specialist publication Monitorul Apărării.

An opinion poll by the INSCOP institute, conducted between 1-9 September 2025, found that three-quarters of Romanians view the introduction of voluntary military service positively.

Romania’s defence laws stuck in limbo as army faces deepening personnel crisis

Other sources: Digi 24, Hotnews.ro, Ziare.ro

Caption: Romanian cadets from the Military Academy recite the military oath during a Romanian Army Day celebration event held in front of the Unknown Soldier Memorial, in Bucharest, Romania, 25 October 2024. EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT