If there was a war who would fight?

[kirstyalslap]

I am keeping my head in the sand. No news. But my child has come home from school asking about the Russian War thanks parents of little charlie and I have been noticing more planes and helicopters.

It's making me scared. Who would fight?
Would our husbands be made to leave for war?
My husband is the breadwinner. I don't work at all. I have small children would he have to go? how would i feed the children? clothe? house? wash?

Would women have to go? What would happen now we have 'equal rights'?
If only men would have to go to war would transmen count? What about transwomen?

Is it just people in the army?
please put my mind at rest.

I am so scared please don't call me a scare mongering idiot. My head was in the sand until my child came home talking about something I am trying to ignore. After a bit of further probing it turned out about a 3rd of the class have been told we are going to war by their parents so that is the reason for this thread.

[quote notimagain]@WhoWants2Know

“ It's interesting to think about how future wars would play out, and I don't think conscription can be entirely off the table.’

v interesting politically.

Conscription is not going to be an issue in relation to the current crisis…it is way too late..

Looking down the road is there any appetite for a compulsory period of national service after which you’d be liable to annual refresher courses and potentially call up from the reserves at very short notice (something like the Israeli system)….

One for the voters…[/quote]
Not from the Armed Forces who’d have to train them all.

The couch potatoes, Mummies' boys, precious lycraclad hobbyists and assorted drips which pass for men in this country couldn't fight their way out of a paperbag. Thanks for the laugh though OP.

I've never been so grateful to be married to my gorgeous flat-footed, narcoleptic, myopic mole of a husband

I suppose they might let him dig latrines or something.

@UsernameInTheTown

The couch potatoes, Mummies' boys, precious lycraclad hobbyists and assorted drips which pass for men in this country couldn't fight their way out of a paperbag. Thanks for the laugh though OP.

Quite a few hobbyists wear lycra on the weekends after wearing military uniform in the week.

I suppose that if we had to send any we could send all the cocklodgers 😂😂
There has been a few fabulous ones on here recently

I'm not advocating people spending all their time reading news articles and researching what goes on in the world but the trouble with second hand info and no first hand research is that it will cause anxiety - especially when it involves being told stuff like 'we are going to war with Russia'. Ukraine is a convoluted issue but we don't have combat troops in Ukraine and the few that have been there training Ukrainian soldiers are being pulled out for the express reason that they don't risk being involved in any conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine is not in NATO and we are not obliged to defend it, even though many European and/or NATO countries have been supplying lethal and non lethal armour. It's not even certain that Russia will invade although obviously there is a great level of concern because of the build up of troops on the border.

Planes and helicopters? Conscription? Is this some sort of joke thread?

This generation can’t go to war. They can’t even cope with a difference of opinion. We would all be speaking Russian in no time.

Not that I imagine we would be any worse off.

Fortunately there are millions of pub bores, all ex-SAS that they can't really talk about but let you and every new acquaintance know about within a minute of introduction. Who'd have thought these three? exclusive regiments would have so many ex-members but the Russians will be petrified that we have so many highly-skilled special forces reservists to send over.

If bombs started dropping on power plants, ports, fuel depots, telecommunications hubs, etc
It'll be far easier to disrupt IT systems and cause widespread chaos than drop bombs.

I've got a terrible back, so please may I be excused from the front line? I'm happy to run up a couple of parachutes on the old Singer though. one with a big hole in it for the XH

@Fireblanket can you make a second one for mine please

Both nations will enlist their best teen talent to settle it once and for all in Fortnite

Not sure why it’s just the blokes getting called up. Women can serve on the front line too. Which basically leaves the UK being populated by the elderly and children. A cross between Cocoon and Lord of the Flies will then ensue.

@PastMyBestBeforeDate

If bombs started dropping on power plants, ports, fuel depots, telecommunications hubs, etc It'll be far easier to disrupt IT systems and cause widespread chaos than drop bombs.

Yes quite, the biggest threat to this country is a cyber attack on vital infrastructure.

@LittleBearPad

Re conscription and..

“ Not from the Armed Forces who’d have to train them all.”

Oh I’m well aware of that…I’m not quite old enough to have experienced Uk National Service but I do know conscription wasn’t popular with many in serving in the Forces at least one European country who clung on to it into the 80s…

TBH think the idea would be a non starter in the UK and not just because of the factor you mention but OTOH it does appear some countries manage it reasonably successfully.

It will not be that sort of war. We aren't in the 1940s now.

Men and women have to be trained to enter into some warfare, there is not enough time to train your everyday persons in acts of war, if the war starts tomorrow.. Our well trained troops will sort things out, they are always on stand by, and ready for anything..

Yes quite, the biggest threat to this country is a cyber attack on vital infrastructure.

Quite.

And Russia is doing an excellent job of interrupting gas supplies to Western Europe too.

Control of resources and infrastructure are a much better way to force others to enable or allow your geopolitical aims than what the OP is imagining as war.

@1forAll74

Men and women have to be trained to enter into some warfare, there is not enough time to train your everyday persons in acts of war, if the war starts tomorrow.. Our well trained troops will sort things out, they are always on stand by, and ready for anything..

Don't be daft, the UK has just 23k infantry soldiers, out of date tanks, limited means to get them to the area, by 2024 the plan is to cut that to 19k. Putin would walk over a UK force in hours, without the yanks, europe cannot stop Putin if he decided to carry on into Poland etc.

@Aposterhasnoname

I suppose but if it becomes a world war? what then?

The next world war will be over in a matter of hours.

It's a sobering thought but actually probably very accurate!

The Russians just have to turn off the gas and the Chinese just need to cash in the debt they own. No need for weapons of any sort.

Days of call up are gone. Professional armies now. But Churchill said jaw jaw jaw is better than was war war. We couldn't afford it as a nation against Russia who are bigger and have shorter supply lines. Now it's all about £££ so that will affect everything.

@100problems

The Russians just have to turn off the gas and the Chinese just need to cash in the debt they own. No need for weapons of any sort.

And both of them have huge armies of hackers trying to compromise our infrastructure at all times.

Being self sufficient as far as possible in energy is actually one of the best defences we could have as a country. Maybe the government would be more keen on developing and subsidising renewable energy sources - and reducing the reliance on gas for heating in homes - if everyone saw that as ‘defence spending’.

The world is very different to a century ago. The threats and how to defend against them are very different.

So what people are saying is we must panic buy all the loo roll!