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?

I would happily go on the front line, I have a lot of built up anger that's just bubbling underneath, sadly however, as a nurse I expect I would be needed elsewhere. Dh (39) has stage for cancer (reason for anger) so he would be no use. Dd14 would happily join up if she could, ds18 is probably better used elsewhere, he's thinking of a career in politics! Dd20 would run and hide, collecting stranded children on her way!

I was surprised on a visit to the war museum to find that the maximum age for conscription in WW2 was 49 which is quite old.
However conscription didn't automatically mean front line service, even for men.

Women were used heavily in munitions factories and in the land army. Women with children were exempt from service although they were strongly encouraged to help out where they could.

No. Too old, unfit and scared of nearly everything it's possible to be scared of.

Also my DS is 18 and physically fit, and nobody is going to take and hurt my DS.

@FloreanFortescue no. Because it's not funny.

I think I would pass fitness tests

But they won’t be conscripting me into the Armed Forces (even if they raised the maximum age high enough), because not only do I have (incurable) leukaemia, the drugs which keep me alive require frequent consultant review after timely blood tests, including one which has to be sent to a major teaching hospital to be processed as hardly anywhere has that high spec a machine. I can’t see that being managed on any kind of deployment.

I suppose I could fly a desk in London, or another major city

Yes, due to us both being armed forces until recently.

I'd be a liability. I'd probably reduce our overall effectiveness, so conscripting me would help the enemy.

I'm 24 and moderately fit but have bipolar so it'd be they'd have to take a 50/50 chance of me blowing up the wrong side of the trenches if I go manic

I’d just move to a non conscription country. I am not anti war by any means, I have a great deal of admiration for servicemen and women but I fundamentally can’t stand being told what to do (not to mention object to being canon fodder).

Surely we'd all be blown to bits by a nuclear weapon before conscription happened, never underestimate the power of the nutters with their fingers on the button

Conscription for active service was for men aged 18y to 41y in WW2 iirr although I think they could be a bit younger with parent's permission.

I don't think we'd get that far with a new type of world war. It would be fought on entirely different grounds, in very different ways.

I suspect I would be exempt anyway. I'm 46y so too old. I have arthritis and recently had a procedure on my heart which isn't fully recovered from yet.

DD is 17y so still too young for a few months. DH is 46 so again, probably too old. Though he is healthy and well with no medical restrictions.

bellinisurge How do you know that the posters writing do not already support the armed serves or donate? One does not prevent the other.

I am a LT in the Army Cadets, but unfit.

I can shoot well so would fair ok, as long as I didn't run anywhere

Probably not in terms of fitness but I'd conscientiously object anyway

I’d be exempt for sure on medical grounds. I have a chronically broken leg which has been broken for 18 months and won’t heal. I have a range of weird medical issues and take about 20 tablets a day.

Though I’m actually fairly fit and think I could possibly pass the fitness test. However I’m also too old.

I’m very good at target shooting though so if they want a sniper who doesn’t have to run anywhere I’m their woman.

I doubt they'd want a fat, unfit 43 year old woman but who knows!

This sums up me as well, but I'd be worried about 19 yo DS. I haven't tried to get him citizenship of XDH's country because they have conscription and their army is notorious for violent bullying.

I think the DCs and I might cope with the privations of army life better than more MC people who drive rather than walk and live in heated homes. I wouldn't have any patriotic motivation to defend a country that just voted heavily for Brexit and austerity though. They can go to hell.

WWIII would just be drones and nukes wouldn't it? Surely you don't need to be particularly fit to press a few buttons?

And it's all be over faster than I could run 2km anyway!

I'm 50 with several health conditions. There's no way I'd be conscripted.

I did think wars were fought via tech these days - drones etc. Not face to face anymore but at a distance.

I dont think they'd take me... not sure how epilepsy and miltary service work very well in tandem.

As for fitness levels, I'd have no hope - the training would kill me before the enemy did.

DP probably too old for active service but would probably be pulled in for code breaking / techy stuff. His uncle was at Bletchly park and he definately inherited those sorts of skils.

Well if infantry troops are still needed I'd be useless due to asthma, flat feet, fibromyalgia and a variety of allergies. Including PLE.
Fibromyalgia would count me out of a variety of support roles too as I can't spend too long stood up.
I'd like to think I'd be like my Grandma and join the modern equivalent of the WRENs. She would do regular night shifts watching for aeroplanes.
As for DH - without his glasses he'd be legally blind. You're probably not much use on a battlefield if you have to stop regularly due to getting dust in your eye and your contact lens shifting. He'd be excellent in an engineering support role though.
My children are currently too young.

To all those who talk about not wanting to fight or being contentious objectors etc would you still feel the same if, hypothetically, france invaded the UK?

Would you fight or just dust off your o level French?

I think if we look at WW1 & 2, it's interesting to point out that the UK doesn't have the same demographics as it did pre 1945. We simply don't have as many young people as a percentage of the population as they did then and we have many more pensioners.

I’m sure I would soon be plotting on how to get out of the forced enlisting along other people that shared my views.

If I knew how to keep my mouth shut I would be an amazing asset to the resistance.