Thousands of young people answer call for service year with Dutch military

The service year at the Defense Department is in high demand. There were 3,000 applications for this year, with 500 or 600 of those to spend a year as a full-time soldier in the Navy, Army, Air Force, or Military Police. The intention is to add many more places in the coming years, to grow to 4,000 places.

Defense said it is a good sign that there is such a high demand. A spokesperson emphasized that there has not been a campaign thus far to advertise the service year. The demand has to grow a lot more to fill 4,000 spots. When asked, Defense said one in three applicants from the first batch has been appointed.

They added that it will also take a lot of effort to ensure there are enough training places to achieve this. The Defense Department has to arrange sufficient trainers and space for the service-year soldiers.

The service year seems to be working well for the Defense Department, which has struggled with staff shortages for years. Of the first group of 136 people, 102 will stay involved in the Defense Department, most of them as full-time soldiers. Some choose to be reserve soldiers.