08 Introduction The Luxembourg Defence Policy Guidelines for 2025+ is the first public, national policy document defining long-term defence policy directions for Luxembourg. It describes Luxembourg’s defence policy, the context and framework in which it is placed, Luxembourg’s strategic interests and objectives, its available resources and the manner in which they are employed, and how the Luxembourg Defence is destined to evolve over the coming years. Luxembourg has a military tradition which led to the introduction of compulsory military service in 1944, and, in 1967, to the organization of Luxembourg’s army as we know it today. National interests and Luxembourg’s defence policy, of which the army is a major tool, have evolved in line with periods of peace and crisis, and national and international requirements. Today, Luxembourg’s Defence is at a turning point. The international situation, commitments made in the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU) and NATO, and the desire to have an army that, in its modernity, reliability, openness and dynamism, is a reflection of our country, justify a change in priorities for Luxembourg’s Defence and army. In this context, several factors play a key role: the structures of the Luxembourg Defence (the Defence Directorate and the army), the changes in recruitment and the human resources profiles needed to implement the defence policy, the choice of investments (i.e. military capabilities) and preferred areas of action, the development of a Defence Technological and Industrial Base both within the EU and in Luxembourg, and the evolution of Luxembourg’s defence effort. Nowadays, rare are those countries that are able to influence the course of events alone, be it in terms of security and defence policy or in other areas. Luxembourg is no exception, and all the more so given the size of our country and the limited scale of our resources and defence structures. However, Luxembourg has always been able to turn its situation into a strength.