Military conscription

Is it just fighting in Eastern Europe you are not happy about? If Russia invaded France or Germany, do you think that people should fight then?

What about if they dropped bombs on us? Should we fight then? Or just rage at the government via the internet?

Curious as to what your tipping point would be?

The world works on alliances - always has done. It's why WW1 started after Franz Ferdinand was assassinated and its why NATO is so important - the idea of NATO is that all of the countries sign up to the attack in one is an attack on all principle - as soon as we start to discriminate between NATO countries, the whole thing goes south.

We can't say I wouldn't fight to defend an Eastern European NATO country, only a Western European NATO country, or even worse, I'd only fight to defend ourselves because that leads to the collapse of the alliance and then everything truly will descend into chaos.

That is why the risk of the US leaving NATO is so dire - not because we would miss their military might in any conflict (although that is also an issue - albeit one which Europe is trying to mitigate), but because it fractures the united response which has prevented another world war breaking out up until now!

Would I want my children to have to go and fight in a war - of course not. Do I agree with war in the context of the current crisis - no, as a previous poster said, it is all about rich, white men seeking money and power.

However, if it comes to it and we do end up in the sort of war that needs conscription, then yes, I would absolutely support it and encourage my children to do their bit in any way that was needed, as would I, because the alternative - of powerful countries being able to take over, invade and ride roughshod over whoever the hell they want, is completely horrific.

As it is, I don't think it will come to conscription for our young as there was in WW2 with young people being sent to the front to fight. I think there will be challenges and sacrifices that need to be made, I think there will be difficulties and there may be conscription within home based industries / engineering / factory production / food production.

When NATO countries get fully drawn into this, it will be an information and technology war - there will be some soldiers on the ground, but a lot of the battles will be with aircraft and drones. There will be attacks on the internet and on information systems to try and cripple the country. It will look very, very different to the 1930's!

Ask the users shouting about the fact they won't permit their adult kids to be conscripted.

I think that was also due to the social attitudes of the time. During WW1 and WW2.

Men (and too many young boys) felt they had a moral obligation to sign up - I doubt they were skipping merrily to sign the paperwork. They just were a product of their environment and that was just what you did. If your dad, brothers, cousins and school mates were all going to fight (and probably die), then you have an obligation to do the same.
History tells us that the men who dodged that obligation without any real reason other than “I don’t want to” were not treated well by those around them.

Why on earth would an 18 year old need parental consent ?

look at several people who save people from the sea
the people who save others from terrorists

people will step up

Really ? But you have posters on here arguing like it is exactly the same.

Funny old world, innit ?

A good number of Mumsnetters appear to believe that if Conscription papers are ever issued, the M.O.D will simply drop the matter without parental consent.

It's truly bizarre.

If WW3 happened and to the extent conscription was required you’d be fighting to preserve the sovereignty of your country and way of life irrespective of who the leader was.

The world was a very different place back then

As this thread shows, you'd not lost much.

@SerendipityJane I’m always quoting that advertisement. Never thought to search for a clip.

My son is in the RAF and will be called upon to do his duty. Hopefully he will do his job, along with diplomacy and conscription won’t be needed.
Ao my son will go if needed.

If needed, they'd be taught to drive. Like my DGM was.

People generally don’t happily sign up to fight.

But ungenerally they queued for for hours in 1914. They were overrun with people signing up.

Funny old world wasn't it ?

YANBU. Anyway they crapped on young people during the pandemic and with student loans and all the rest of it. Also these days, many can't drive! They won't be up for it on the whole and I don't blame them.

People generally don’t happily sign up to fight. If they did, then conscription wouldn’t be necessary. You have a very obtuse understanding of conscription.

That's not really a thing. Tiresome though it is, the UK hasn't been self sufficient in food for two centuries. No matter how much carrot cake it cooked.

What’s this? YouTube could be anything

Who floated national service at the last GE?

Sounds eminently sensible. So probably not really for Britain. Certainly not as a whole leastways.

My elderly mum pointed out to me that she thinks Labour have u-turned/amended on inheritance taxes of farmers because the farmers have reminded them that they provide home grown food. If we can’t import the government will suddenly realise how important they are.

I think OP’s point is fair though: people who are so pro conscription should be first to volunteer.

Unlikely.