Defense is struggling with major personnel shortages in the North. The organization has not been able to fill vacancies for years. That is why there has been a so-called service year since September. Following the Swedish example, students receive a broader education that gives them more time to orientate themselves. But does it work?
A group of twelve people in uniforms walk through a hedge of family, friends and future colleagues into the Johannes Post Barracks. They are welcomed in Havelte with torches and clapping. They are the first twelve soldiers who are linked to the 43 Mechanized Brigade in Havelte through the service year. They are part of an experiment, they know that now.
“I thought this was a standard project that had been done for a long time,” says Nienke from Leek. She is one of the participants. “Until I arrived in Ermelo and they said: you are the guinea pigs. I didn’t know that at all.”
Because the Royal Military Academy (KMA) was full, Nienke moved out. She hopes to join Defense through the service year. “100 percent,” she says firmly. “This is my first choice. If it didn’t go through the service year, there would have been another way.”
Watch the video to see how Nienke is doing during the training