Conscription -should UK initiate?

That is spot on.
Exactly what I meant, but you explained it better.

Thank you.

Dinahmo

I think that fewer young people are applying to join the army because they have see the way in which our veterans have been treated - which is appallingly. Some of them are living on the streets, homeless because much has gone wrong with their lives and they are also suffering from PTSD.

I think a lot of young people join the army etc when they have few family connections and little hope in the education system. When they come to leave, they are losing what 'family' they thought they had. The forces need to be careful who they take on. And maybe equip those kids for life as independent beings when they are at a later stage. In the forces they have everything provided for them - food, accommodation, social life. Suddenly being without it, if you don't have a supportive family to return to, must be horrendous.

MissAdventure

Perhaps young people are being raised by people who are ashamed to be British?

Its said fairly regularly on here.

Pride in what is merely an accident of where you happen to be born isn't a great thing. Maybe we have a generation (at last, though mine were there too) who question whether fighting and killing is the best way to sort out the world's problems.

Yes, I suspect that's the case, as much as anything.

I'm neither proud nor ashamed either way.

Grateful though, to be able to post what I want without censorship or repercussions..

Elz57

I believe it would be the way forward give the youth of today a purpose and instil some respect into them.

Respect? I've never understood why having someone barking orders at you is supposed to instil 'respect'! And what is the purpose? Learning that pretty much everyone not British is to be considered the enemy? How to kill people? Personally I'd ban the arms trade all together. How can we complain that those in Gaza are victims of genocide when WE sell the weapons?

I believe that 12 - 24 months of 'National Service', be it 'military' service or 'community' service, could be of great benefit for both the young person and society.

But in the event of WWIII, young people would be conscripted into the forces just as they were for the 2 previous world wars.

Personally I would prefer my grandchildren to receive 12-24 months training during peace time than 8 weeks in the event of international hostilities.

Well I dont want my grandchildren being sent to be potentially killed, and if they did sign up as my middle grandson at this point wants to go in the millitry. I want people with him also choose this not forced.forcing mekes us no better than other dictators.

I think for " respect" read dismantling of personality and being trained to kill people.

WW2 is definitely well and truly over. We are not the plucky little island nation defeating the baddies.

No. I would not want my son or grandsons sent to war. Our family gave enough. My grandfather, father and husband all served.

Do posters think those who might just think more should be spent on defence are warmongerers?

There is much naivety on this thread.

From what we can make out on here Callistemon theres some folk saying that in France the conscription (national service??) went on till more recent?I think thats what they're saying.?

Everyone just talks about The Army ........

Knittypamela

No. I would not want my son or grandsons sent to war. Our family gave enough. My grandfather, father and husband all served.

I doubt their parents and grandparents wanted them to go to war either - but if they and their like had not done so where would we, and other European countries, be?

If it ever happened (I doubt it would) I can't see many young people of today cooperating. My father volunteered, aged 17, to join the RAF, along with his friends. It was seen as the patriotic thing to do. They had absolutely no idea of the hell they were facing and he was the only one to survive.

Today's youngsters tend to be well informed, unpatriotic, educated pacifists - and would simply refuse, whatever the 'rules'.

Yes, citing their human rights and mental health …

but people who went to war did come back with mental health problems. I worked in a care home in the 90s whilst I was a student and many of the people there were having flashbacks or episodes where they thought they were back in the war (or prisoners during the war) I've not thought about this for a long time, I wonder if it was common

Conscription could be valuable in some ways. A short spell of training would do no harm to most young people. At the end, it could highlight, to some, that a career in the forces is appealing, ( or not ) and also allow those in charge to
‘ weed out ‘ the ones that they viewed as unsuitable candidates for a military career.

People's human rights and mental health do need to be protected.

It's a sorry old state we'll find ourselves in, if not.

What an amazing assertion Hetty. How do you speak for all young people in the UK?

Enlistment or conscription was a topic written about in the first world war by Annette Mary Budgett Meakin

books.google.co.uk/books/about/Enlistment_Or_Conscription.html?id=4xFAAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y

We're not talking about sending them off to war. I think if politicians start more war-mongering and wanting to interfere in the situations in other countries, as some have done recently, there might be even bigger protests than there were against the Iraq war.

The Forces train in defence, being prepared for states of emergency, logistics, disaster situations etc.

Encouragement to join a service might be better than conscription but why does everyone just keep talking about the Army? 🤔 There are other military services and non-military such as the Fire Service, Coastguard.

But then would all these Services want the kinds of people who would lack a sense of responsibility, care and duty to others anyway?

grannybuy

Conscription could be valuable in some ways. A short spell of training would do no harm to most young people. At the end, it could highlight, to some, that a career in the forces is appealing, ( or not ) and also allow those in charge to
‘ weed out ‘ the ones that they viewed as unsuitable candidates for a military career.

Could those who know at the start that they'd be unsuitable for a military career self-weed themselves?

Self weeding sounds sensible, but there’s always the chance that someone who wasn’t interested, might discover that it’s an opportunity worth considering. Also, a spell in the military might highlight the opportunities there are to learn many skills. I’m not implying whether or not there should be conscription, just thinking of some possibilities. As someone upthread pointed out, in the event of the imminent likelihood of war, conscription might be mandatory. Maybe better to add to numbers, if possible, before a crisis occurs.

Same argument as I would present Callistemon.
We are talking here about conscription having a meaning far beyond the sphere of military affairs.
Interestingly, in France the old type military service will now be called a Universal National Service and embrace all kinds of aspects.
As for selection, in the early trials it will be the lycées who will send a chosen cohort of 17 year olds to participate at a SNU centre. I'm guessing that the teachers will only recommend those who could cope with the task.

A pity the politicians of the various warring factions can’t just fight each other and leave everyone else out of it. Mind you, I wouldn’t fancy the chances of the two old blokes in the USA.