Applications to join the various branches of the Armed Forces have doubled in the last two years in the Balearics. According to data provided by the Defence Delegation of the General Command, the number of young people entering the military career in the region has risen from 32 in 2022 to 65 in 2024. The previous year, 2023, 60 young people joined.
The Defence Delegation has highlighted these figures, which are the result of actions taken to bring the so-called defence culture to all corners of the region. They added, Balearic society is aware of the reality of the Armed Forces and young people have access to information that allows them to orient themselves in a military career.
Among other actions to bring defence culture closer to society, the Delegation visits schools, educational fairs, and gives lectures and presentations. At the recent Military Easter celebration held at La Almudaina in Palma, Commander General Fernando Luis Gracia praised the work of the Defence Delegation in bringing knowledge of the Armed Forces to as many citizens in the Balearics as possible, which has had the main impact of increasing the number of young people interested in pursuing a career in the military.
The Ministry of Defence has offered 47 places in the ranks of the army and navy in the Balearics. Of these, 30 are in the Palma 47 Infantry Regiment, ten for the ALA 49 at the Son Sant Joan air base, four for the Pollensa air base and three for the 7th Air Surveillance Squadron in Soller. On 8 January, the resolution approving the selection process for admission to military training centres to join the ranks of troops and sailors was published in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
In general terms, the Ministry of Defence is increasing the number of active military personnel and students, achieving the necessary personnel levels set by the Chief of Defence Staff (Jemad) in the Defence Plan through the Military Capabilities Objective (OCM), which guarantees the full operational capability of the Armed Forces.
This Plan sets a target of 127,500 active-duty military personnel in 2029, representing an overall increase of 7,500 personnel, including both command staff (officers and non-commissioned officers) and enlisted personnel. According to information from the Ministry of Defence, this objective is being met thanks to public job offers that represent 120 per cent of net personnel losses and will result in a total offer of 11,913 new positions by 2026, of which 2,863 will be for entry into training centres for officers and non-commissioned officers and 9,050 for entry into the military as enlisted personnel or sailors through the two planned entry cycles. This number of positions is almost double (92.2%) the number of positions offered in 2017.
The process of increasing active service personnel, which began in 2018, reverses the loss of personnel resulting from previous Public Employment Offers that failed to cover personnel losses, reaching, in some cases, such as the five years covering the period 2010-2014, to practically zero rates, with only 10 per cent of net personnel losses being replaced.
With this personnel planning, the Ministry of Defence emphasises that the existing operational needs of military personnel are guaranteed and that new emerging capabilities such as cyber defence, new domains of the Air and Space Force, as well as the increased demand for command and control structures in international security and defence organisations (NATO, EU) are being addressed.