Germany's association of military reservists believes the country will only be able to defend itself if conscription is reintroduced.
Not even the government's target of 203,000 soldiers by 2031 will suffice to ensure national security, association president Patrick Sensburg told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper.
"Rather, planning should be geared to the number of personnel needed to make Germany defensible again," Sensburg said in Saturday's edition. "But without compulsory military service as part of a service obligation, we will not make Germany defensible."
Sensburg has repeatedly called the suspension of compulsory military service a mistake.
Conscription was suspended in 2011 after 55 years under former defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, which de facto abolished military service and the alternative civilian service.
Germany's army, the Bundeswehr, currently has about 183,000 men and women in uniform. However, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has already said the target of 203,000 is behind the times.
The rising average age of soldiers is also considered a problem, because personnel numbers can only be maintained with the renewed commitment of regular troops serving under contract.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, has prompted nations throughout Europe to reconsider their defence capabilities and increase their spending amid an altered security situation.
