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I can't decide which is worse. The fact they sent a draft notice to a baby or the fact that they even have a draft in Germany....
I find the concept of conscription under the European family of socialist systems to be rather silly. Then again, maybe I shouldn't, come to think of it. I would have figured that they would have moved to a more "humane" and "fair" voluntary system, but I'm not sure that would work for them.
I find it to be a great idea. Every person (male and female) should be required to serve for a set period of time after wither turning 18 or graduating high school...whichever comes first.
Imagine. Wars would be thought of differently when everyone has a high stake in it. It would promote physical fitness. It would create a stronger sense of nationalism. The list goes on...
Imagine. Wars would be thought of differently when everyone has a high stake in it. It would promote physical fitness. It would create a stronger sense of nationalism. The list goes on...
At the beginning of WWI and WWII the Germans, French, Italians, Brits, Japanese and the US (to name just a few) had conscription based militaries. How much differently did they think about war? A strong sense of "Nationalism" was a huge contributing factor in both wars. You might want to study some history here...
I don't disagree with that it may be a good idea, but forcing people into doing things they don't want to do often has a huge negative downside.
I would like to see some sort of National service in the US, not necessarily limited to only Military Service, though.
Just for my own edification, may enquire as to your age? You don't list it in your profile.
WWI and WWII were justifiable wars and were seen as such throughout the wars. It certainly would not prevent wars, but questionable wars would not be as common as they are today. At least I would like to think people would take a more active stance on issues...I'm probably being an idealist though.
So it was justifiable for the Germans to invade France and Russia in both wars? It was justifiable for the Japanese to invade China and slaughter millions? The wars were seen as justifiable in the west for a variety of reasons, but they were seen as justifiable by the people on the other side too. Who says what is justifiable? Would the UN making a massive move in Daifure be justifiable, even though UN flagged soldiers would die and innocent civilians would be hurt because of it? If Nazi Germany had won WWII, would we still see our actions in WWII as justifiable? Would they?
Were the Napoleanic wars justifiable from either sides perspective? How about the Franco-Prussian War? Korea? Vietnam? All of these involved conscription and National Pride to some extent or the other.
I'm not trying to beat up on you here, but one must not view history through Rose colored glasses. If you do, you miss the real lessons.
cheesybanana said:I'm probably being an idealist though.
I had planned to join the Air Force (I'd hoped for a position in communications) when I was eighteen. This ended up being absolutely forbidden by my dad. I guess it was due to his experience in the Air Force?!
You're right johntailin. I've seen recruiters feed more lines to young females than to young males by far. As far as never leaving goes, I'm not so sure. I know people who left and you would never know they served unless they bothered to tell you. I believe it a conscious choice to be honest.
I think I misunderstood you to be honest. I thought you meant the lifestyle, not the military itself.
You have to finish the term of your contract as enlisted or fulfill your obligation as an officer. Once the terms have been fulfilled you can re-enlist (officer just stay until the quit or retire) or leave honorably. You can not simply choose to leave. You can walk away, but there are legal considerations and this sort of thing can follow you around for a long time. You occasionally hear about some 70 year old guy getting picked up because he skipped out 40 or 50 years ago. It's like paying taxes, it's just easier to do because otherwise they will eventually catch you.
You can get medical or administrative discharges for various reasons as well.