O/T Mandatory National Services to be brought back in by the Tories

[Brin]

In the EU, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Cyprus, Greece, Austria and Switzerland have conscription

So why not us?

Grist, totally agree. Smarten out the youth and make men and women of them.

[GlennMiller]

During my almost four decades in the military, potential National Service was always looked upon with dread. Love them or hate them, our Armed Forces are a well-honed organisation geared to produce highly motivated individuals to carry out often highly technical and demanding tasks. The training involved is intense and specialised and there is no slack to entertain a political vote-seeking wheeze.

That said, if the Government was willing to invest massively in a new quasi military organisation, run by ex military personnel on reclaimed former military sites, with the intention of instilling some discipline, respect, patriotism and fitness in to today's youth, it would get my backing. But nothing should be done which dilutes or compromises our worryingly contracting military capabilities!

[ragingpup]

Laughably brilliant idea! Would now want the tories to win just to see the chaos as they try to implement it!

Looking forward to seeing how they fill fund it in their manifesto. Magic money tree again guess, like the leveling up promises last time. But at least the voting public won't be fooled by that kind of thing again......

[Ericsladkilnhurst]

In the EU, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Cyprus, Greece, Austria and Switzerland have conscription

So why not us?

Spain also
A son of a friend of ours in Turkey has just come back from National Service, he served for a 6 months term, there is a term period of 6 -12 months.
Military Service here in Turkey is compulsory for Turkey for males between age of 20 to 41 for 6 to 12 months.
Conscripts are given 1 month military training & then deployed into a Service & further training, receiving a allowance throughout their tenure.

[howdydoo]

During my almost four decades in the military, potential National Service was always looked upon with dread. Love them or hate them, our Armed Forces are a well-honed organisation geared to produce highly motivated individuals to carry out often highly technical and demanding tasks. The training involved is intense and specialised and there is no slack to entertain a political vote-seeking wheeze.

That said, if the Government was willing to invest massively in a new quasi military organisation, run by ex military personnel on reclaimed former military sites, with the intention of instilling some discipline, respect, patriotism and fitness in to today's youth, it would get my backing. But nothing should be done which dilutes or compromises our worryingly contracting military capabilities!

Compromise it is exactly what it would do.

Give me the boy of 7 and I’ll give you the man. Revamp education. Stop teaching pointless and meaningless subjects and toughen the rules up.

[Scum-Triumphant]

In the EU, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Cyprus, Greece, Austria and Switzerland have conscription

So why not us?

Aren’t you a supporter of being out of the EU? Why are you now using it as a good example?

[Scum-Triumphant]

My main issue is that the people that it mostly affects don’t have a say in it.
Imagine being 15 and a 60 year old is voting on whether you should do national service in 3 years.

I would prefer to take away the mandatory element and use it for people getting into trouble, unemployed, dropped out of college to combat the NEET numbers.

I feel it will encourage a sick note culture and more and more looking for social and emotional diagnosis’s or pregnancy to get out of it.

[UlleyMiller]

Transparent nonsense. Clearly unworkable, and aimed only to push their election agenda - dressing themselves as the party best placed to handle the Ukraine and Israel situations and to further the small boats rhetoric. Utter desperation from an embarrassing group of detached leeches.

It's 2024, and middle aged people who never witnesses any sort of national service are still getting nostalgic over its benefits. Laughable, and thankfully it will be binned by July 5th.

[KerrAvon]

Kerr I for one concur but how many of today’s youth would turn up voluntarily unless conscripted?

How would we deal with those who don't turn up for the non-military alternative?

For that matter how would we deal with those who took the military option, but then went AWOL or refused to get out of bed and told their NCO to f*ck off?

Would we end up with half of the army training kids only for them to leave as soon as they could and the other half running military prisons?

I'm all for investing in the provision of education and training for kids and for them to have opportunities to achieve a sense of purpose and being valued. I'm not so keen on poorly thought out gimmicks that will be kicked into the long grass as soon as the election has passed or which will be watered down and run on the cheap.

[flourbasher]

Well that would be shock to the system to our young adults.
In the modern era many of them are pampered and wrapped in cotton wool whilst passing through the education system.
Time off, unlimited rest breaks, eating food during classes , stress toys, most of them get extra time in exams etc

To go from that to a life in the forces would, as many have said, be unworkable
Maybe start with toughening them up at school first; not with boot camps but stop all the ridiculous snowflake creation

This idea is up there with free broadband for all from Labour in a previous election campaign
Ill thought out and unworkable