 This was held by some as a violation of constitutional principles, but was upheld in several court decisions based on the reasoning that former service personnel could be redrafted for military exercises called "Wehrübungen", while somebody who had served out his replacement service could not.Moreover, work conditions under military service typically involved more hardship and inconvenience than Wehrersatzdienst.In 2004, military service and Wehrersatzdienst were then made to last equal lengths of time.