Sweden brings back military conscription amid Baltic tensions
- Thread starter White_Unifier
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Wish Canada’s Government would do this.
Military gives individuals direction, principles and education
This way they don’t just end up at some dead end minimum wage job in a bottle recycling depot
Military gives individuals direction, principles and education
This way they don’t just end up at some dead end minimum wage job in a bottle recycling depot
Hmmm... Not with the crowd I had to work with. Alcoholics all around me.
What you say might be true in general, but it probably depends on the specific group you have to share living quarters with in the end.
With conscription though, the situation might be better in that you'd be sharing living quarters with more of a cross-section of the population than drunkards, an anti-Semite, and another few members who joined to get training so that they could then head south to train the freemen in the US. That was just the group I had to share living quarters with!
A trainer called his superior a nigger in our presence (not to his face of course), and another collected Nazi-era paraphernalia (though he denied being a Nazi and he might have been telling the truth, maybe just a history buff).
That was just within our own platoon. Then another guy on base had neo-Nazi tattoos on him. I saw the humour in the fact that his superior was black. I wonder how they got along when we weren't around
All of that said, others on base did seem more sane overall, so maybe I was just really unlucky. After about a year with them, I was cracking and so left on medical discharge. Though I was physically more fit than most of the rest, I think they could see that mentally I couldn't live in that environment with that kind of bunch in close quarters for so long. So I left and I'm sure the feeling was mutual.
All that to say though that don't assume the military experience necessarily teaches discipline. Again, it really depends on the kind of people you'll be associating with.
Do not, I repeat DO NOT water down Canada's forces with reluctant conscripts. They make useless soldiers and they waste the time and resources of our few professional soldiers. They are only fit to guard the shitters back at base.
I'm of two minds. Sometimes I think that serving some time in the military will instill discipline and, hopefully some personal responsibility. But as Whitey says, I supposed it would depend on who you'd be associating with. Those that he described wouldn't have lasted long in the squadrons that my husband was involved with for sure!
Having said that, when hubby spent his years in the military and with all our postings, the men and women I met were smart, enthusiastic, personable and had a great sense of humor. I would have gone to "hell in a hand-basket" for any of them if I were part of the military. They were wonderful people and I often wondered why they chose the profession they did. The didn't brook any stupidity and wouldn't hesitate to set one straight. I'm willing to bet that most of them, post military, are doing extremely well for themselves.
So, any conscripts that would be under those that I met, wouldn't be able to get away with any $h*t for sure and would learn a lot. Nothing tells me that anything has changed from then until now. Our Military is really something to be proud of and, of course, since I married one I was a pretty smart chick myself LOL.
Still, there are those individuals who simply would not do well because of the strict discipline required. And, of course, if you simply cannot take orders.......
JMHO
Having said that, when hubby spent his years in the military and with all our postings, the men and women I met were smart, enthusiastic, personable and had a great sense of humor. I would have gone to "hell in a hand-basket" for any of them if I were part of the military. They were wonderful people and I often wondered why they chose the profession they did. The didn't brook any stupidity and wouldn't hesitate to set one straight. I'm willing to bet that most of them, post military, are doing extremely well for themselves.
So, any conscripts that would be under those that I met, wouldn't be able to get away with any $h*t for sure and would learn a lot. Nothing tells me that anything has changed from then until now. Our Military is really something to be proud of and, of course, since I married one I was a pretty smart chick myself LOL.
Still, there are those individuals who simply would not do well because of the strict discipline required. And, of course, if you simply cannot take orders.......
JMHO
They would be reservists not regular forces..
Look at the Israeli military it’s mandatory..
Cinscription is a great way to stave off youth unemployment for a few years.
I'm still of two minds about the benefits though. Having worked for DND I Don't see where our military at least would do much good for toughening up our youth. They are far too PC and like the rest of our government have all kinds of "targets"that don't include merit for promotions. Also knowing french is a requirement for officers but french officers don't have to speak english with any kind of proficiency.THey even train in French.
I'm still of two minds about the benefits though. Having worked for DND I Don't see where our military at least would do much good for toughening up our youth. They are far too PC and like the rest of our government have all kinds of "targets"that don't include merit for promotions. Also knowing french is a requirement for officers but french officers don't have to speak english with any kind of proficiency.THey even train in French.
Look at Canada's current military misadventures. Is all reserves.
Seems to me the North Vietnamese put together one of the better fighting forces in history with conscripts.
If we had conscription, I suppose we could give a choice between the military and some kind of peace corps. The two might be similar except that one would be combat-oriented, the other development-oriented.
Interestingly enough, my experience with military personnel outside of those I had to work with when I was in the military has been similar to yours. I do think that I was just extremely unlucky to end up with that batch.
Even in that batch though, there was one good guy, but he just took off on his days off to see his wife. Another also took off to who knows where whenever he had free time. And of course I did the same. On weekends, the few sane ones among us just bailed. Interestingly, the ones who ended up being discharged were mostly the sane ones too, including me, but not all.
Again though, I think I was just unlucky.
Interestingly enough, my experience with military personnel outside of those I had to work with when I was in the military has been similar to yours. I do think that I was just extremely unlucky to end up with that batch.
Even in that batch though, there was one good guy, but he just took off on his days off to see his wife. Another also took off to who knows where whenever he had free time. And of course I did the same. On weekends, the few sane ones among us just bailed. Interestingly, the ones who ended up being discharged were mostly the sane ones too, including me, but not all.
Again though, I think I was just unlucky.
Don't wreck the Militia or Reserves, either. They've become an important part of the forces, again.
My father's generation referred to conscripts as "zombies", for good reason, too.
Actually, the reason hubby got out was the PC'ers were starting to raise their ugly heads and he was sick of it. He was just shy of his 25 years but thought that the penalty he took for getting out "early" was worth it. He had women under him that would refuse a direct order because they had their "periods" or weren't "feeling well" or figured the "assignment" was beneath them and would go over his head to complain. He never had problems with the guys though so he became extremely frustrated. Not all women gave him issues though; he did have one woman who was so good that she could outwork and out perform most of the guys. He trusted her implicitly to do what was asked of her and she did. What he couldn't tolerate was the disrespect coming from the other two gals (did I mention they were French - no I doubt that had anything to do with the situation - they just didn't want to work or take orders). Unfortunately, the higher ups wouldn't discipline them at all. It ended up causing issues with the squadron as a whole and resentment from the others because no one would do anything about them. So hubby said the hell with it and put in his 30 days, screw the pension penalty and he has no regrets.
If this has continued, (and I suspect it has) then he made the right decision and I would think all those wonderful people that met throughout the 20 or so years that I was involved as a married spouse, wouldn't have stuck around either. It's truly a sad situation for sure but I maintain that the lower ranks had (and likely still have) some pretty terrific people. It's the upper ranks that are likely "directed" by politicians who have no idea of what the hell they're doing, to be "nice" to everyone and not hurt any feelings. It's totally ridiculous.
JMHO
It cannot hurt.
In a short period of time, it helps develop a sense of responsibility and purpose in the young. They contribute to the country's well being. There are multiple roles for military people, not just marching and fighting. A lot of relief help is performed by the military - weather (snow) and disaster relief, Olympics, searches, etc.
Ex-service people would qualify for certain benefits. Education being a big one. Even in Canada.
For approximately 18 months, there is much to be gained by everyone.
In a short period of time, it helps develop a sense of responsibility and purpose in the young. They contribute to the country's well being. There are multiple roles for military people, not just marching and fighting. A lot of relief help is performed by the military - weather (snow) and disaster relief, Olympics, searches, etc.
Ex-service people would qualify for certain benefits. Education being a big one. Even in Canada.
For approximately 18 months, there is much to be gained by everyone.