19 yr old son and fear of being called up to fight in a war

[User287264]

This is not a thread about "will WW3 start tomorrow", there are plenty of those already

Ds is 19 and has been talking about lot about what would happen if the UK did enter a war and if young people his age would be called up to fight.

He's such a gentle soul, I think this would be his worst nightmare. (Not that many people would relish it I know)

I'm not sure what to say to him. It feels to me like a general call-up WW2 style would not happen nowadays but what do I know?

I guess we all have our different worries about world security right now but I guess his is quite a specific worry. I'm 52 with arthritis, I'm not ever likely to be called up to fight.

It's total speculation and I still dont feel it's very likely, but does anyone have any idea how a massive call-up might work nowadays? Or would the current armed forces and reserves be enough? I'd like to reassure him without just dismissing his fears.

He does have a tendency to anxiety which doesn't help, but he's generally good at handling it. We're having a news-free day (apart from me right now) and going out for a big walk in the rain

I think you can reassure him it’s not going to happen and that modern warfare is about drones and nuclear threats. Is he worried perhaps about being a grown man and what his future looks like? There’s plenty for him to worry about imo but the possibility of inscription is far far far down the list! Does he have a job/what does his future look like? I’d be trying to direct him towards that. X

Am desperately worried that my 19 yr old would volunteer thinking it was a great thing to do

Mine has dyspraxia and would also be a conscientious objector - would refuse to kill and would be willing to go to jail. However he’s also a massive computer nerd so would probably get roped in to doing something along those lines instead.

It is a worry OP, I can understand both you and him worrying. It’s not fair - most normal people don’t want wars, we have them imposed on us. It makes me think of people who have gone through this historically, and more recently in Ukraine etc. you’d think humanity would have come up with a better way by now.

Same. And they would have to step over my cold, dead body to get at my children.

Wouldn't surprise me at all. I think we're far from the bottom of the list to get nuked.

I think most civilian young men would be useless for the army and actually be a liability rather than anything else...

They don't have the training, physical or mental health or resilience needed.

Anyway, modern warfare is as much about covert action/intelligence, drones and computers than being physically in the field.

I think you need to put his mind at rest and tell him it won’t happen or at least not in the way he imagines if he has anxiety about it.

Interestingly I watch a program about Finland yesterday and they have more reserves than the UK and most young people are being trained as reserves. They seem to have a completely different mentality and I have to say they are an impressive society. My son would also be absolutely useless in a conventional call up but may have something to offer with his programming skills.

Lots of parents and young people are probably thinking along these lines today but I don’t think it will come to conscription. And he can always claim to not be able to fight due to having “heel spurs”

Of course not 😂. She’ll sit at home saying things like ‘everyone is ND nowadays’

That is a land war where one country has invaded its neighbour and is trying to annex its territory.

We are an island country with friendly neighbours. We are not at any risk of having to fight in a land war.

It’s been raining all morning where I am in Wales.

I am not sure we can really claim to be an island for the purposes of invasion. We have boats arriving every day. I don’t want to start a debate about immigration but the reality is yes we are an island but anyone can turn up at anytime.

The boats could easily be stopped if we machine gunned them from the beach or aircraft, as would happen in a war.

I am glad I am from a different country. Here you pay 1700 euro fine and you don't have to go to war.

Most conscientious objectors in WW2 were not imprisoned, but engaged in ancillary work as part of the war effort.

The modern military is too sophisticated for a call-up type initiative to be of any use. Everything requires a ton of training. The UK military no longer fights as tommies in dug outs shooting on the battlefield. That’s why it was so laughable when the Tories suggested bringing back National service - no one would be in long enough to learn anything useful.

I wouldn’t worry, OP. People will simply refuse en masse. I mean, what exactly are they going to do? Starmer might talk about needing “boots on the ground,” but they can’t force people to go. There’s no real sense of pride in the UK anymore, and that’s largely due to the ruling elite, who ignore the electorate and leave people feeling alienated.
On top of that, there's a growing sense of shame about our country—its culture, traditions, and history—fueled by left-leaning media and academic institutions.Most young people would probably feel there isn’t anything worth fighting for anymore.

My son is still only young, but hell would freeze over before I ever let him fight for Starmer’s government.

We’re not Russia and generally observe the rules of the ECHR, which recognises the rights of religion/faith and to conscientiously object. It’s not 1914 or 1939. And this is Britain. No-one will be frogmarched into the back of vans at gunpoint - if there is a time when they need boots on the ground (v unlikely) they will encourage voluntary conscription first. They will, as other PP’s suggest, be focused on military and technical expertise - they will want comp sci and STEM grads and specialists to volunteer, and even then they will likely access this through corporations involved in arms design and manufacturing, aeronautics etc.

I would truly tell your son that he does NOT need to worry. If there is ever a war, they will want people to pitch in in a way that actually enhances the war effort. Untrained 19yo’s offer very little in the type of war we might have if things go belly up.

It’s an interesting if worrying thought but in certain London boroughs for example, half of all residents don’t identify as being British first, so how would it affect them if conscription was started?
Personally I don’t (hope) think it ever will as the majority of current teenagers would be totally useless but could non Brits be called up too?
Great Britain is so totally different now from what is was in 1939.

I'm not sure if I'm envious or not?! The sunshine is lovely, but I haven't been well & I'm not coping well with the heat (32 here yesterday) 🥵

We could easily stop the boats if we were using machine guns, but of course we don’t do that, because that would be a massive human rights violation.

It’s not a human rights violation to defend yourself against an invading army, however.

It was one of the things that sifted through my brain when I had a boy, though as a pp said, that would be considered sexist now. I suspect that a modern war would not need the personnel of the previous world wars.

That's the worst of all situations!! I feel for you x

In Sweden we’ve had military service for as long as I remember. When I was younger all boys aged 17 had to, by law, go through a testing process and would either be conscripted in for a year or so, or they’d exempt them. If you absolutely desperately don’t want to go it’s unlikely they’re going to make you. But you HAVE to go for testing, or the police are informed. These days it’s mandatory for both boys and girls to undergo testing. It’s just part of life in Sweden, we all know that’s what happens, so most young people just get on with it 🤷‍♀️ a lot of my friends have done military service and they have all enjoyed it. It’s paid, they pay for travel home a few weekends a month, they teach you leadership skills and young people grow up a bit. Depending on your role they may also pay for you to do something like a HGV licence so you can drive the enormous military trucks. You take that licence with you when you leave, so if all else fails you have something tangible to use to make a living if you’re so inclined. I honestly wish I had done it, it was open to women back then but you had to actively apply and I ended up going straight to uni. But I do wish I had taken that 1 year out to do it!

I am also very concerned…..I have grandchildren who are in certain employment that be ‘called in to support the military’ and another who desperately wants to join the RAF this year. And I do understand that there’s countless parents nd grandparents across the globe with the same concerns…….when will this madness end? When will people stop this mindless, needless killing?