The president of Germany's Reserve Association, Patrick Sensburg, says he expects many people to volunteer for Germany's armed forces, the Bundeswehr, amid a new enlistment drive, but said bringing back conscription would be necessary in the long run. "I expect we will get far more volunteer applications than we think," he told the RND media group in remarks published on Wednesday. "We are talking about up to around 40,000 volunteers whom we need to recruit from more than 600,000 men and women in a single age cohort. I bet we'll get them," Sensburg said. But, he said, it would not be enough to rely solely on the reserves, which was "why, ultimately, conscription will be necessary." His remarks come as Germany's governing coalition continues to debate the details of a new military service law that is set to go into force on January 1, which will initially rely on voluntary enlistment. However, the government is discussing, among other things, what should be done if not enough volunteer. Conscription in Germany was suspended in 2011, but the changed security situation in Europe amid the threat of Russian aggression has prompted calls for it to be reinstated.