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

In world war two the average age of the combat soldier was 26. In Vietnam it was 19.

19

9 9 9 9 19.

They don't jail conscientious objectors anymore. Haven't done so since about 1920.

He could join the RAF Regiment 🤔

(Your eldest will get it)

Fantastic that you have brought his memory back to life. Thank you.

Can I please ask his name so I can check out the citation? One more person to pay respects to.

I'm ex-forces. I'm a cadet instructor now. There's some excellent kids out there, not just tossers.

Men in my family went to WW1 and were killed. Having seen that, and the horror of war, when the next generation of my family were next to get called up for WW2, they became conscientious objectors and got out of it. They were not sent to jail, just worked in roles supporting the war effort in some way but still in the UK, on farms, factories etc.

Plus, prisons are full aren't they, so that wouldn't be an option anyway. A Yougov survey had similar results to what many are saying now, if it did happen, they would not be willing to fight. Those in the military say they don't want people who don't want to be there as they are too hard work.

Yes but the doesn't mean 25 isn't young. It certainly doesn't mean a 25 year old is "middle-aged cannon fodder."

@Damnloginpopup have sent you a PM with the details, thanks.

Much depends surely on whether the youth consider the invading force and their success a worse fate than what they have - - or worse than dying in battle.

Presumably he would prefer others to fight for him.

Does he place any value on his freedom and autonomy?

No?

Didn't think so . .

Presumably he’d prefer there was no war at all.

I do get tired of the criticism of young people. A great uncle (15) thought it would be a great idea to join WW1 (lied about his age of course) He was on active service at 16 and got a Distinguished Conduct Medal for outstanding bravery a couple of years later, badly wounded in the process. The account of what he did is amazing. His mother was told it would have been a VC had all the officers who could verify not been killed before they could

You don’t see the difference between 15yo’s in 1914-1918 and those in 2025? You think they are the same? While there are always outliers, on average, I would be willing to bet very good money that they are extremely different.

Yeah . . . . most people would.

And if there was a war, would you rather be conscripted yourself or would you rather trained soldiers fought in your place?

I always laugh at the idea that 18 -25 years old are useless and we would be fucked if we needed them to do anything. Ye raised them! They are YOUR kids! They are a reflection of YOUR parenting!

Dont think that’s entirely fair. I blame schools for a lot of it. All of this ‘every child is a winner’, everyone wins the class prize (it just goes round the class pass the parcel style, it’s not a prize at but they are told it is and they win it by being great that week). Their moaning is listened to there and they seem to be humoured to a large extent. There’s a brilliant Bill Gates speech I read once about this. He gave it to a graduating high school class in the USA ages ago. Basically telling them that, despite what school has drummed into them over the years, very few of them ARE actually special at all, and be prepared for that in the real world with employers. It’s messaging they get for a large proportion of their childhood, that is very hard for parents to then moderate to reflect actual reality. This has led to very different generations, and not for the better.

It's easy to be judgemental when you're a middle aged woman who won't be fighting.

Every generation moans about the one that comes after them. Your parent’s and grandparent’s generation moaned about yours. They probably thought you’d be useless if you were called to war too. Thankfully you didn’t have to try and prove them wrong.

Most of Gen Z wouldn't even pass basic training INMHO.

Would you have done? Good job you weren’t called upon to prove it, isn’t it!

I've only read the 1st 2 pages, but I'm surprised at all the "this lily livered lot" with their gaming & anxiety comments.
Let's leave aside for now the technological components that make war now different.
What is it that those making these comments want from younger people? What would it take for you not to make those comments?
Is it that you think all young men (maybe all young people generally) should be physically imposing with almost military level fitness? AFAIK Gen X are fitter and healthier than perhaps any recent generation. They go to the gym a lot, drink less, know.about nutrition. So you can't get them on that one.

Many of those conscripted into earlier wars in the UK & elsewhere were plain lied to about what it involved. Did you watch All Quiet on the Western Front? Google the scene where a late teenage soldier watches his friend crushed to death by a tank next to him while others have their heads blown off. Do you think they wanted that? Do you think they weren't terrified?

Those that returned were in many cases psychological wrecks. Many sank into alcoholism, some became violent. Many committed suicide.

But that's apparently all preferable to young people being honest about their anxiety or their fears. Do you know what it could do to a young mind (still not 100% developed until 25) to read this drivel. You'll complain to high heaven about body shaming, misogyny to yourselves but you secretly love the opportunity to pass judgment on fellow human beings

I'm truly, truly disgusted

I'm concerned in a different way... I think my outdoorsy/ Scouting/ adventurous/ Call of Duty playing/ WW1&2 enthusiast sons would be the first to join up.

And all this from a group of people who sit typing safe in the knowledge that they never have been and never will be called upon to fight in a war.

@YokohamaSapphire

Thank you for your post. Everything you wrote is true.

Some of the posters should be ashamed of themselves.

I'm just thankful that I'm not bitter and twisted and jealous of the younger generations.

Iran and Iraq have been at war for years and all the same newspapers and news channels absolutely loved it the same tripe was spouted about ww3 and it went on for years which obviously would have made a lot of people very anxious, they done the same with COVID and even though much much later COVID strains became much less deadly they would still put scare stories in the papers and still even try it now.

Mostly the Sun the Star, Daily Fail and the rest of the shitty tabloids. I'm not worried, there maybe a lot of hacking things go on like supermarkets, hospitals ect but as for anything else nope I'm not worried.

He needs to get off the Internet and go out to the basketball court...definitely.😁