Croatia has officially reinstated mandatory military service for the first time since 2008. Hundreds of Croatian teenagers have reported for duty, with training taking place at three barracks across the country. Recruits undergo two months of military discipline to ensure adequate military preparedness.
' Around 800 people are in the first batch of conscripts, with over half having volunteered rather than waiting for their call-up papers. Gen Kundid has promised a 'very dynamic, very interesting' programme for the conscripts, with training covering traditional skills, basic drone control and drone protection skills, and cyberwarfare techniques and countermeasures. Croatia last had obligatory military service in 2008, and since then, people could join only voluntarily if they met certain requirements.
Currently, Croatia’s military has 15,000 active soldiers and 2,000 reservists. In 2022, only 402 individuals completed voluntary training - far below the annual need of 1,000 conscripts. Croatia's proximity to the war in Ukraine - with only Hungary separating the two countries - has prompted a move to reinstate compulsory military service.
Croatia's Defence Minister, Ivan Anusic, said, 'The situation in Croatia and all around our neighbourhood was stable. ' In November 2025, the Ministry of Defense proposed regulations, and the first calls for medical examinations of recruits were issued by the end of last year. 'Obvezni vojni rok' (obligatory military service), also known as 'vojno osposobljavanje' (military training), began on Monday (March 9).
Approximately 18,000 young men in Croatia turn 18 each year, and several thousand of them will be called for mandatory military service at various intervals. It is expected that 4,000 conscripts will undergo mandatory training every year, divided into five generations. Mandatory military service applies only to men, while women are exempt.