If WW3 kicked off, and you were forced to enlist, do you think you'd cope?

[BaubleTheLumpOfCoal]

I 100% wouldn't.

I've looked at the army website and the fitness levels they require alone are way above my baseline level (out of breath when running up stairs )

I'm very small and weigh 6 and a half stone, so would probably be a liability to my fellow troops.

How do you think you'd fare?

No one appears to have volunteered for make up duty yet so I am putting myself forward for contouring officer aka camouflage. I have an extensive make up collection and am v good at highlight/blush/colours.

I have a close relative who is currently deployed in the area concerned. The fitness level isn't that high, but that could be partly to do with their particular role.
For those who think having young children would exempt you - I'd be surprised, in these days of equality. During ww2, two separate groups of children were left without a mother as a result of the blitz. In each case, the children were placed in children's homes until their fathers could make alternative arrangements. One group of children were separated from a sister who ended up being adopted and never did return home with her siblings.
Assuming any conscription scheme would treat men and women equally, I'd expect many similar situations to arise.

dh and I are too old, dd2 too young and dd1 has a variety of health problems, several of which although they don't affect her too much in day to day life would rule her out of conscription

If it came to WW3 I'd volunteer
I'm 63 and fit - in past conflicts they accepted older volunteers who had usual skills - I'm a scientist and I could help with the tech side

The entry standards for our peacetime volunteer army are much higher than standards would be for conscription,
when just about anyone 18-45 with a pulse could be hauled in,
especially for non-combatant roles

I'd expect equality in conscription
Single parents or carers might not be excused if kids were compulsorily warehoused.
Kids were evacuated from the Blitz, different motivation, but sets the precedent for splitting up families for the duration.

useful skills

I wouldn’t hesitate. I’m a lot older than I was when I returned to civvy street but I dare say they wouldn’t be fussy. The fitness would be an issue as I’m a lot heavier but I’d give it my best shot.

I do not have children though and am single.

If any level of physical fitness was required, I’d be fucked. However, I am a massive arsehole and I’d be up for having a pop at any enemy troops if they catch me in the right (or wrong) mood.

No way I’d be cannon fodder.
I’d probably go to jail for refusing or go awol.
No doubt the next one will be the ultimate cock waving competition between a few rich men.
Stick them in a room and let them fight it out to the death.

Well,I can honestly say that I wouldn't be accepted. I have trouble walking properly,never mind anything else,as I have quite bad rheumatoid and osteo arthritis in numerous joints,and always need one walking stick,sometimes two. And I'm probably a bit too old,at 56.

Desperate measures if they wanted me or DH. He'd be perfect for Dad's army though.

They wouldn't want me. I'd be a Land Girl as I have the physique of a sturdy peasant.
I would also crack like a twig under interrogation. They'd only have to withhold morning coffee and I'd spill state secrets.
I'm slightly gutted, because I used to have good aim on the 1970s Binatone shooting game and I've always wanted a taser gun for shocking people who irritate me on the high street.

I don’t think women should be fighting on the front line so I would definitely not be going. I’d probably be given a white feather and be thrown into jail but I’d gladly take that 😂

Too old and have a job which would require me to stay doing it if there was a war!

I'd cope psychologically. I come into my own in crisis situations. The rest of the time i bumble along but I've always been good under pressure.
I've also got a lot of willpower and I can cope with bad conditions fairly well.

Fitness wise I'd be slightly screwed unless they reduced the minimum levels required a bit-but I suppose they would as time went on.

Where I'd struggle is the morals of it. If I didnt believe in what I was fighting for I would struggle to do it I think.

I really don’t think our armed forces need someone as old, unfit, opinionated, stroppy, independent-minded and bolshy as me. I wouldn’t last five minutes.

Maybe that's exactly what they need, age!

Older women have a lot to offer (ethics aside) and warfare is not about brute strength any more and hasn't been for years.

I can just about make those fitness tests (never done a mid-thigh pull) i think but with science background would probably be sent off to do something unpleasant at Porton Down

Am assuming this is a light hearted thread WW3 would likely be cyber /drone attacks etc not so much boots on the ground stuff. And that's at best. At worst there are some v tetchy nuclear powers at the moment... Not sure what benefit conscription would bring in either scenario.

I doubt they'd want me, a fat asthmatic. I am a nurse though, would happily help if I could. Fingers crossed we don't have to find out!

I'm of the same mind as PigletJohn:

".. WW3 will probably not last long enough for mass conscription."

When I was serving nearly 40 years back we were told that - excuse the banter- if "the balloon went up" it would all be over in a week.....Things are a bit different now the USSR/Warsaw Pact doesn't exist but I suspect if WW3 in some form breaks out there would hardly time to get down to the recruitment office, let alone break in a pair of boots...

Nope. I already have awful mental health including PTSD so I think enlisting would put me over the edge. I also would never choose to go to war so being forced would infuriate me.

We would be absolutely fucked. Most people would not get the trainers they wanted to wear and when on exercise the new troops would walk right into enemy bayonets while trying to take battlefield selfies.

I'm too old and decrepit to be called up.

I guess they would use me to backfill the role of someone who had been conscripted.

Rather than fantasising about a scenario that would never happen, why not do what you can to support actual service personnel and their families and reservists?
Donate to the British Legion and Help for Heroes.

@bellinisurge it was a hypothetical. Lighten up.