Other Post National Service

[Viking69]

I was chatting to someone about it today, and was just interested what you chaps think the pros & cons would be if it was to be reinstated. viki;

 

[drywall]

I assume that is the same as our draft. It has been, oh, maybe 25 - 30 years since it stopped here. So there is at least one whole generation who has never given the military a passing thought. I wouldn't go over well at all over here. I'm almost positive of that.

 

[Viking69]

Yes it was much the same as the US, Draft . In the UK it was Two years My Farther was called up and subsequently served 26 years viki;

 

[tosh66]

Wouldn't work, all the kids today are soft and spend all their time on computers, Oh dear, pot and kettle come to mind! Oh well I've done my time.

 

[Zofo]

We had a couple of discussions that skirted around this issue - with the US draft for Vietnam and the use of Boot Camp for young hooligans. I'm not saying every youngster is a hooligan here! but I was rather under the impression that draftees would water down the professionalism - however, Bill & Tom said in Vietnam it wasn't the case. A war is a different thing than joining during peace but on the whole, reading some of the military type chat sites, forums etc, I think it's a good idea that we don't have National Service, there are too many gung ho types about who think that serving in the forces is a matter of being given a weapon, a couple of mags and then off to shoot whoever is annoying HMG.
I read a definitive book on National Service full of interviews with those who had served and the general impression I got was that they were used for all the boggy jobs that you give privates, gunners or signalmen! The old adage of "If it moves, salute it, if it doesn't, paint it" seemed to be the order of the day.