We see the writing on the wall. The larger powers are asking and taking. A Canadian province that never had a referendum before might vote to break up. (We knew that Quebec had independence aspirations, but Alberta?) Forced regime changes, invasions, and finances for divisive organisations seem to be even more prevelent now than during the Cold War.
Romania has been asked to “contribute more” by increasing its defense budget. Well, what does history tell us?
In the 1990s, Romania had a troop strength that at time surpassed of 300,000. Three Lakh troops. Now, it’s less than half of that at around 126,000 (or 1.26 Lakh). (Source, global military.net)
We’ve read in various newspapers that Romania spends 2.3 percent of its GDP on its military, and the USA is asking it to rise that number to 5 percent. I remember when the number that Nato countries had to aim for was only 2 percent. In any case, Romania used to have a much larger troop strength.
Economically, a high troop strength can be a good thing. It can be used to reduce youth unemployment, as well as the hidden unemployment numbers by increasing work force participation. Also, soldiers can be trained with skills more relevant to the workplace, they learn to work in teams, and all kinds of soft skills that might lead to more successful entrepreneurship in the future. They also tend to be more patriotic, so might be more likely to work in Romania after their service comes to an end than some other professions who retire and take the money abroad.
More importantly, a high troop strength is a great deterrent against invasion.
Currently, there are about 1,500 to 2,000 American troops in Romania. There are also troops from other Nato countries. While this is something, it doesn’t really deter a foreign invasion. Russia, Turkey, and a few other nearby countries could overpower 3000 American troops, (as recent history has shown less powerful countries drive out more powerful forces.) Retired Romanian soldiers and lay patriots would quickly make it difficult for any invader, but with a strong deterrent Romania wouldn’t have to prove that.
Many European countries once had mandatory military service. There are talks of this returning in Romania. It could be made mandatory for those who are not currently economically active (or who work fewer than 20 hours a week) and are not currently training for essential roles (such as medical professions. We can draft future politicians, they might make better decisions if they had a little military experience.) This should be used as a deterrent against invasion, not to send troops abroad. (Except perhaps to protect Moldova, to protect true allies that would protect Romania in return, and areas where real Romanian interests are at risk. But not to the bidding of third party countries.)
Romania could also invest in a youth military exercises. What they call JROTC or “junior reserve officers training corp” in the US is a great way to introduce youth to discipline and camradery. Romania does have an equivalent, but it is not as well known.
As for weapons, anti-aircraft and anti-drone technology is already being developed, but cheap versions can be effective.
The intelligence community needs fixing. There are too many false positives, too much time wasted on false leads. They do have a list of a spies from other countries, who are allowed to operate in order to catch their connections, but there is room for improvement. Romania used to have a powerful intelligence network, it has weakened over the past couple of decades. (It is still pretty highly regarded in some circles.)
In schools, more effect needs to be made toward physical education and health education. Youth need to be healthy enough to join the services, should they choose to do so.
Diplomacy also needs to improve. There will be fewer threats if Romania has better understanding with certain countries. Diplomacy does not mean caving in, it may occasionally involve negotiation but it means being firm enough to demand respect.
We have only seen one real recruitment campaign in the past half a decade in Cluj. Compared to the UK, the USA, or other countries, we have seen very little military recruitment in Romania.