Germany's Defence Ministry has designated locations for 24 centres to assess candidates for the army - with the first centre expected to open later this year - as the military enacts a military service law to expand the size of the Bundeswehr.
Two of the centres are planned in the central city of Kassel and the western city of Wiesbaden.
From mid-2027, young people are to be assessed there for their physical, mental and intellectual suitability for the Bundeswehr.
Centres outside military premises are to be established at 16 existing military locations: besides Kassel and Wiesbaden, these are Bonn, Dresden, Hamburg, Kiel, Koblenz, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Neubrandenburg, Nuremberg, Oldenburg, Potsdam, Saarlouis, Schwerin and Ulm.
A further eight conscription assessment centres are to be established in Bielefeld, Braunschweig, Dortmund, Jena, Kempten, Offenburg, Regensburg and Würzburg.
Germany reintroduced a voluntary military service programme last year in an effort to raise troop numbers in response to Russia's war in Ukraine and new NATO targets.
Since the beginning of the year, 18-year-olds have been sent a questionnaire by the Bundeswehr evaluating their readiness to potentially serve. Men are required to fill out the questionnaire, while it is voluntary for women.
A statement from the Defence Ministry said some 206,000 letters with a link to the questionnaire had been sent out as of April 29.
According to the data, the response rate is around 3%. Of the men who have received the letters, about 86% responded to the questionnaire within the four-week deadline, the ministry said. Those who do not respond receive a reminder before facing a fine of €250 ($294) if they still fail to reply.
The Defence Ministry statement also said the first recruits have been successfully signed up under the campaign. Medical examinations have been conducted, and interested individuals have been scheduled for specific assignments, it said.
A spokesman did not provide exact figures for the number of recruits when asked by a journalist.
