Could Military Conscription Come Back In?
In the News
Reading the news on whether the UK army is ready and able and it is scary stuff. I am still really young and would not want to have to drop my studies to do a stint in the army. Don't get me wrong, if we were under attack I would serve my country. But otherwise I really wouldn't want to be a soldier.
You never know what could happen regarding what Is happening In our World with how It Is right now. I know that It has not happened for decades In the UK but other Countries do It now. Who knows.
I believe this is a good idea. Considering some younger generations are what seems to be out of control (sorry but true) with stabbings and such the like some order and discipline might get some back on the right track.
sallylester1 I agree to a certain extent but those who are good kids (and there are many) should not be wrenched away from their studies and future prospects. However, I am sure sure the military do not want their ranks full of scummy, knife wielding, undisciplined and unambitious horrors. Or are they maybe the type needed in a war? Doubt they would like being on the receiving end of violence.
sallylester1 Or it could have the opposite effect & teach them how to use weapons etc. which would make them more dangerous upon returning home.
I've said for a while that those children that have committed crime should have compulsory military service and also those who leave school and don't have higher education or employment or an apprenticeship. That way it motivates children to not commit crime, and seek employment or higher education. So around 17 it makes sense for these groups to go into military service, many of which will come out of it with a skill or may come out of it far more employable.
Those that don't do compulsory military service i.e. leave the country should be stripped of rights to benefits and NHS care etc if they return later.
BonzoBanana Sorry, but this is never going to happen - being compulsory. In case you have forgotten The United Kingdom government can call upon its Commonwealth citizens to go to war instead.
jam45 That's great news that we can just send in commonwealth citizens as cannon fodder to defend our country and they are happy to lay down their lives for us.
My father was a strong advocate of national service but if i was a young fella I must admit I'd not be keen.The way the world is going I wouldn't rule it out.
MelissaLee1 It won't be just fellas this time with women wanting equality and all
TheChimp That fine by me. They can share the workload and it will be less squaddie mentality which I detest
War is war, if they are needed they should be conscripted , criminals should be made to do national service for 2 years
Yes I think it eventually will as it will become inevitable with the growing developments from Russia & China and due to the deplorable state of our military currently.
KeithMorri30374 I can't see how it can be forced on people tbh, it'll be against their human rights or something.
I think that now the leaving age from schools is 18, unless you go to higher education. That there should be some sort of national service, say for 3 years.
Perhaps they coild also look at interested volunteers, to fill in the back room jobs, freeing up trained service personell for more focused duties.
I think the idea is horrific. Dehumanising people and creating even more mental health problems for the future doesn't do any good at all.
In theory, yes. I'd sign up if my country was under threat. I feel this is a matter of time.
I wanted to add - waiting until we were under attack is far too late. It's as soon as we're under threat.
Or they could just try funding the armed services properly in the first place. If they attempted to introduce national service it would fail completely. A small but highly trained and disciplined armed service will always be a lot better than a large number of untrained conscripts. many of whom wont want to be there.
Conscription isn't the answer; forcing criminals to serve might sound like a great idea, all it has produced in Russia is a rag tag bunch who marched on Moscow before mysteriously stopping and fading away.
To those who think conscription would be a good idea I'll say this, in part (a very small part), I agree but consider this, the cost of training someone to become an infantry soldier (it's no longer a case of which way to hold a gun) is £67,000. Training many thousands of people even to this basic standard would cost billions. Where would you suggest the money came from? Government gets money from tax payers (would you be happy to pay more tax?) or see savings made elsewhere, how about closing your local hospital? Saying someone should do something is easy, it's paying for it that's the difficult part!
Would it be jail if you refuse? If so I think the jails are going to be even more over capacity.
I do think it will happen, it’s just a matter of time I believe till it happens. Though I live in Northern Ireland and we can’t be ordered to be conscripted but we can volunteer. My granda forged his age and signed up for the 1st world war. He was shot in the arm but survived and I’ve some wonderful memories of him till he died when I was 12. My dad said my granda always refused to talk bout the war and so they no nothing of what happened and he went through. I take it he must have had horrible experiences of losing friends etc in it
I doubt it would ever happen tbh, i think there would be too much backlash and war has advanced a lot to the point it’s not fought on the ground as much.
They won't ever do it until it's too late and they actually need them to fight, but, at that point they won't be trained. If they are going to do it they need to start now!
I think it's extremely unlikely, any large scale conflict involving us ( which I hope will never happen), is likely to be conducted at a very long distance using technology using minimal personnel , undercover small covert operations or negotiating skills. The need for massive numbers of troops is a thing of the past for first world countries.
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