Croatia is to bring back mandatory national service, 17 years after it was abolished.

From next year, men will be expected to complete two months of military training after turning 18. Women will be exempt but can take voluntary training. Conscientious objectors will be able to take up civilian roles, but would have to server a longer term of three or four months.

At one training camp in Slunj in the centre of the country, Sergeant Slaven Zlomislic showed the dormitories and classrooms where recruits would receive basic military training and familiarisation with modern military hardware.

While conscripts won't be fully trained to operate sophisticated weapons and equipment, they will all be expected to learn to fight as infantry, Director of Human Resources at the Ministry of Defence, Ivan Jusic, said.

The government hopes bringing back national service will help plug a gap in personnel numbers. "The problem of the Croatian army is the lack of people," military analyst Goran Redzepovic says.

But the move raises ethical questions, with conscientious objectors facing longer service and lower pay, Redzepovic says.

There are also questions as to how effective low-trained conscripts would be in a modern battlefield swarming with drones and electronic warfare. "I sincerely doubt that basic military training will increase the combat capabilities of the armed forces," Redzepovic says.

The programme aims to train up to 4,000 men next year.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

Croatia to bring back mandatory national service, 17 years after abolishing it

VIDEO SHOWS: CROATIAN ARMY BARRACKS / COMMENT FROM DEFENCE MINISTRY OFFICIAL AND ANALYST

SHOWS: SLUNJ, CROATIA (OCTOBER 29, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF ENTRANCE TO MILITARY TRAINING GROUND EUGEN KVATERNIK IN SLUNJ

2. BARRACKS BUILDINGS FOR MILITARY RECRUITS

3. CORRIDOR INSIDE BUILDING FOR MILITARY RECRUITS

4. VARIOUS OF WASHROOMS IN BARRACKS

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Croatian) SERGEANT SLAVEN ZLOMISLIC, SHOWING DORMITORY AND CLASSROOM, SAYING:

"Here on my left you can see one of the dormitories. The dormitory has a typical appearance consisting of 16 beds and each conscript has his own military locker, here across from the dormitory itself is a classroom where the conscripts conduct classroom-type classes."

6. POSTERS IN CLASSROOM SHOWING MILITARY EQUIPMENT

7. VARIOUS OF DORMITORY

8. BARRACKS

ZAGREB, CROATIA (OCTOBER 29 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

9. BUILDING OF MINISTRY OF DEFENCE IN ZAGREB

10. SIGN READING (Croatian): "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE"

11. DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES AT THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE, IVAN JUSIC

12. (SOUNDBITE) (Croatian) DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES AT THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE, IVAN JUSIC, SAYING:

"In 2026, we expect, as planned, to invite up to 4,000 young men, recruits and women who can voluntarily apply for basic military service."

13. SIGN READING (Croatian): "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE"

14. (SOUNDBITE) (Croatian) DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES AT THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE, IVAN JUSIC, SAYING:

"And during that time (two months) they will be trained in everything that we consider to be the basic military skills, knowledge and abilities that are necessary for them to be able to protect themselves on the battlefield, to be able to help their comrades, to be able to achieve the communication that is needed and in addition they will be familiar with - I won't say that they will be trained, but they will be familiar with the modern systems used by the Croatian Army, so they will have the opportunity to become familiar with unmanned systems, to become familiar with complex combat systems, which I repeat, we will not claim that they will be trained for that, but for the basic military skills in the infantry, everyone will certainly be trained for that."

15. FLAGS OF NATO, CROATIA AND EU ON THE BUILDING OF MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

ZAGREB, CROATIA (OCTOBER 28, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

16. EX-MILITARY PILOT AND MILITARY ANALYST FOR TELEKOM PORTAL, GORAN REDZEPOVIC

17. (SOUNDBITE) (Croatian) EX-MILITARY PILOT AND MILITARY ANALYST FOR TELEKOM PORTAL, GORAN REDZEPOVIC, SAYING:

"From a defence and security point of view, there is no doubt that Russian aggression has led to certain negative security trends in Europe. Each country, whether within NATO or individually, tries to respond to new threats and challenges. The problem of the Croatian army is the lack of people, staff, that is, professional soldiers, according to publicly published sources, there is a shortage of about 1,500, which is a little more than 10% of the active force, and there is a lack of people for the reserve, because there has been no military training, military training, for the last 17 years, the staff so that the reserve has to be renewed."

18. REDZEPOVIC SPEAKING

19. (SOUNDBITE) (Croatian) EX-MILITARY PILOT AND MILITARY ANALYST FOR TELEKOM PORTAL, GORAN REDZEPOVIC, SAYING:

"There is also a moral issue, that is, men and women, so there are many moral and ethical issues about it. A concrete example is if someone refuses to serve in the army due to conscientious objection, they will be penalized or they will receive less money for civilian service, they will receive a longer civilian service, they will serve three or four months longer."

20. REDZEPOVIC WALKING

21. (SOUNDBITE) (Croatian) EX-MILITARY PILOT AND MILITARY ANALYST FOR TELEKOM PORTAL, GORAN REDZEPOVIC, SAYING:

"I sincerely doubt that basic military training will increase the combat capabilities of the armed forces and the defence capabilities of our country. So in those two months, everything is packed, it is difficult to achieve that it is relevant, they can perhaps get acquainted with something, but to adopt those skills, those habits, that is very difficult. Especially since we need different specialities, not only the speciality of a shooter, but we need gunners, scouts, signalmen and so on and so on, there are numerous specialities that need to be filled in our reserve and professional armed forces."

SLUNJ, CROATIA (OCTOBER 29, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

22. SOLDIERS WALKING TOWARDS BUILDING FOR MILITARY RECRUITS

23. CROATIAN FLAG