YOU’RE IN THE ARMY NOW?
The suggestion from various military leaders that the UK should reconsider conscription – or, as it’s usually referred to in peacetime, National Service – has sparked some depressing kneejerk reactions.
According to YouGov polling, 38% of under-40s say they would refuse to serve in the event of a new world war – 30% wouldn’t serve even if our country was being invaded.
👉 Can you imagine if Britons during the Blitz had taken that approach?!
But let’s take a step back. Without conjuring emotive images of sons and daughters dying on battlefields, the truth is National Service could bring a number of advantages, both to individuals and society at large.
Conscription doesn’t necessarily need to be all-or-nothing once people reach a certain age. There are many types of limited, volitional service in other countries.
Currently in the UK, 12.8% of those aged 16 to 24 are unemployed – that’s 540,000 young people. National Service could provide them with a vital first step in their professional lives, bringing with it work experience, skills, discipline and responsibility. Not unlike the expansive nationwide apprenticeship programme I’ve long championed.
Many studies show that National Service also encourages greater national unity, civic engagement, and social cohesion. All highly beneficial.
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And, of course, we can’t overlook the urgent need to bolster our national security in the face of intensifying global conflicts. On our own doorstep, many experts are now warning that Europe at large will be at war with Russia within six to twenty years.
We are simply not prepared for that.
In the UK, our Armed Forces are depleted to historically low numbers not seen since the mid-19th century, with just 142,000 personnel. That’s nearly two-thirds less than the standing troop numbers before the First or Second World Wars. Even as recently as the Falklands War in 1982, the numbers were closer to 350,000.
Our esteemed British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force (RAF) are mere shadows of their former selves.
The UK is not alone in confronting mobilisation challenges. Many European countries – including Austria, Greece, Denmark, Lithuania and even Switzerland - never got rid of National Service. (And neither did adversaries like Russia and China!)
Sweden recently reintroduced and other allies, including Germany and Australia, are also considering drafts of their own.
The fact is, with aggressive adversaries like Russia, we need to replenish both combat-ready troops and reservists should the worst happen.
Conscription may not be very popular – but it does make sense.
#conscription #nationalservice #nationalsecurity #armedforces
Director of Global Demand Generation at Expereo
3moDesigned to appeal to people who support Reform