"Compulsory military service is Serbian Army's future"

The introduction of compulsory military service is a result of the need to provide a model for the functioning of the military in the long run.

It is also a necessity in conditions of military neutrality, says the new chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army (VS), Lieutenant General Milan Mojsilovic.

"I note that the return to obligatory military service is not something that can be carried out overnight. Until the final decision on this issue has been made, we continue with the model of voluntary military service," Mojsilovic told Sunday's edition of daily Politika.

Most of those serving voluntarily now, he added, want to get employed by the military.

"As a system, the army must monitor the economic progress of Serbia, we must be a tempting employer for young and educated people," Mojsilovic said.

The general added that Serbia has a sufficient number of active soldiers, but that the reserve crops is getting smaller over time.

"Unless we find a way to trained a wider layer of citizens for the defense of the country, in a certain amount of time could end up without a sufficiently large trained reserve composition," Mojsilovic warned.