German Citizens May Help Defend Borders Under New Civil Defense Strategy

German citizens could be involved in the construction of military facilities, supplying the German army with vehicles and fuel to defend the country's external borders as part of a NATO mission in civil defense concept in Germany, according to local media.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The German government intends to adopt the first civil defense concept since the end of the Cold War on Wednesday which proposes to engage civilians in the construction of military facilities, supplying the German army with vehicles and fuel to defend the country's external borders as part of a NATO mission, local media reported Tuesday.

The document obtained by the DPA news agency said that should there be an urgent need to defend borders, civilians will have to support the German army (the Bundeswehr) in meeting infrastructural needs, which means that civil companies will be engaged in the construction of military facilities.

The draft concept noted that in such a scenario, civilians would have to support the Bundeswehr by providing fuel and vehicles. Moreover, the government reserves the right to limit access to certain food products during such periods.

Another issue touched upon by the draft concept is the delivery of messages to the German army. The documents reportedly states that messages of special importance would be delivered according to the terms of telecommunications security law but without going into further detail.

The paper also said that in case of a cyberattack on telecommunication companies, a number of measures aimed at replacing electronic communications would be taken.

The leaked draft document has sparked debate about whether the German government is going to reintroduce conscription, which was abolished in 2011.