Report: Myanmar Military Deploys 85% of New Conscripts Directly to Combat Frontlines

Narinjara, June 14, 2026.

The Myanmar military junta is currently deploying approximately 85 percent of its newly recruited militia and conscript soldiers directly into active combat zones across the country, according to a recent statement by the Myanmar Defence and Security Institute (MDSI).

"According to field data and observation records, 85 percent of the military's current infantry fighting forces are comprised of newly weaponized conscripts and militia soldiers," the MDSI report stated.

Faced with severe troop shortages, the coup regime has launched widespread counter-offensives relying heavily on forced recruitment.

Analysts note that the military leadership is utilizing the People’s Military Service Law as a strategic tool to force civilians into frontline combat, effectively pitting the population against anti-junta resistance forces.

Exponential Rise in Recruitment Numbers

Following the activation of the conscription law, the military has dramatically accelerated its intake:

Monthly Average: The military forcibly enlists an average of 4,700 service members per month, alongside roughly 400 basic militia recruits.

2025 Surge: Over 60,000 conscripts were drafted into service in 2025 alone.

Historical Comparison: The 2025 intake represents a sixfold increase compared to the recruitment figures of 2020, the year prior to the military coup.

Training Batches: In a span of just over two years, the junta has initiated 25 separate conscription training cycles.

Long-Term Decline in Military Personnel

The MDSI statement provided historical context highlighting the military's systemic personnel crisis over the last three decades:

1995–2000: Recruitment training courses were tightly scheduled and completely filled on a weekly basis each year.

2005–2010: The annual recruitment average stabilized at around 25,000 personnel.

Post-2010: Following political reforms and economic stabilization, voluntary enlistment plummeted, dropping the annual intake to fewer than 15,000.

Post-2017: Despite aggressive pressure tactics from grassroots military units to secure recruits, annual numbers dwindled further to approximately 10,000.

High Attrition Rates (The "Five Depletions")

The junta’s reliance on forced conscription stems from a severe, ongoing attrition crisis. The Myanmar military loses an average of over 12,000 personnel annually to the "Five Depletions":

Desertions

Dismissals

Discharges/Exits

Combat casualties

Natural deaths

Since 2015, the annual rate of attrition has outpaced the total number of incoming forces.

This severe deficit sparked a black market of human trafficking within lower-level battalions starting in 2011, where units routinely paid brokers to kidnap or coerce individuals into military service to meet strict quotas. The current conscription law marks the junta's latest institutional effort to forcefully offset these unsustainable losses.