European armies are struggling with a severe shortage of military personnel, and filling the gaps will take considerable time. Expanding troop numbers means more than recruiting additional soldiers. It also requires trained commanders capable of leading military units. General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, addressed the problem in an interview with Bloomberg.

According to the American general, personnel shortages are a major obstacle to rapidly expanding Europe’s armed forces. Even large-scale recruitment cannot immediately produce fully operational units, as they depend on experienced leaders at different levels of command.

Grynkewich stressed that developing junior, mid-level and senior military leaders takes time. Armed forces cannot simply produce the required number of qualified commanders overnight, regardless of how urgently they need to increase their strength.

Addressing the shortage also requires European countries to revise their military conscription laws. The NATO commander noted that some governments have already begun making such changes.