The German military is facing a manpower crisis, with overall troop levels down despite a recruiting effort aimed at building up the force, a report said.

Despite Berlin's plans to boost its military forces, the Bundeswehr still falls woefully short of filling its ranks, a new report says. Defense Commissioner Eva Högl has called for a new and improved conscription model.

The German military is facing severe personnel shortages, and those who do serve are growing older, the German parliament's commissioner for the armed forces warned in her latest annual report released on Tuesday.