Administration of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Conscription and Recruitment

• In 2024, the number of requests received for volunteers for permanent compulsory initial military service increased by 41%.
• Lack of retention measures for military officers and non-commissioned officers.
• More than half of conscripts who have undergone a medical examination are declared unfit for service.

The number of volunteers applying for permanent compulsory initial military service is increasing every year, and the recruitment of the Lithuanian Armed Forces is improving, but it is difficult to maintain the motivation to retain higher-ranking soldiers in the service, and not all the measures taken have been effective. These are the results of the National Audit Office's audit "Administration of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Conscription and Recruitment".

The annually increasing number of requests of volunteers for permanent compulsory initial military service, which increased by 41% last year (compared to 2023), reflects the interest of young people, which is also influenced by the recruitment events organised by the Military Conscription and Recruitment Service. The Lithuanian Armed Forces were 102% staffed with soldiers in 2024 for permanent compulsory initial military service.

However, the audit showed that there is a lack of targeted motivation to retain officers and non-commissioned officers in the professional military service. The number of officers leaving the service has increased by 25% in 3 years, while the number of non-commissioned officers has increased by 6.1%.

"It is essential to have sufficient numbers of higher-ranking soldiers to achieve the Lithuanian Armed Forces' recruitment goals, and therefore effective measures are needed to retain officers and non-commissioned officers in service," says Auditor General Mindaugas Macijauskas.

Surveys organised by the Ministry of Defence between 2022 and 2024 revealed that there was a lack of training and courses for soldiers to provide career development opportunities and incentives to stay in service. The audit showed that 50.3% of the selected units did not receive career development courses.

The Military Conscription and Recruitment Service receives up to 5 times the number of applications for volunteer soldiers than the planned number of recruits, but the selection criteria are not sufficient to assess the motivation of candidates. This does not allow only active and motivated volunteer soldiers to be recruited.

More than half of the conscripts who have undergone a medical examination have been declared unfit for service. Of these, more than 40% were declared unfit for military service due to mental health disorders and psychological problems. After assessing the ability of the sub-commissions of the Military Medical Examination Commission to verify the validity of psychological diagnoses presented by conscripts from other medical institutions, we found that the conditions for this will be in place from 1 May 2025.

Part of this audit report is classified in accordance with the Republic of Lithuania's Law on State and Official Secrets. In addition to the Ministry of National Defence and the Lithuanian Armed Forces, it has also been submitted to the Seimas and the Government (persons entitled to access to classified information).