The age of conscription should be lowered to 16

[Lovepeaceunderstanding]

The world looks much less stable than it has for a long while. In the event of war our depleted armed forces will need all the help they can get. We should lower the age of conscription to 16?

We definitely need conscription, all children should be forced to serve at least a couple of years. There should be the option of serving the country in a non-military capacity, a "National Citizenship Service" or something. People who wanted to join the armed forces could serve their time there, people who didn't would serve their time doing productive work on behalf of the country.

It wouldn't be an easy ride, they'd still have to live in a military-style environment with military discipline, and the work would be very hard, but it's a good way to enforce national service without demanding people take up arms if they really don't want to.

A good idea would be to make the minimum term for the non-military version be double that of the military version. This would encourage more people to "voluntarily" go down the armed forces root.

Your kids first op

DS1 joined up at 19. He wanted to join at 16, but I refused to sign the papers and said he needed to do his A levels just in case he didn’t get in. His A levels have stood him in good stead, because the military are going to pay for his degree. He’s in his tenth year of service. DH did 35.

Atm DS1 is deployed. I know the country he is in and where his plane landed. That’s it. I don’t know when he’s coming home. I can’t speak to him on the phone. I don’t even know what he’s doing, tbh. We can’t tell his grandparents where he is. I’ve never been so worried about anyone in my life. He’s been gone 2 weeks and I’ve lost half a stone. If I thought there was prisoners, 16yos, or people who were forced to be there serving alongside him, I honestly wouldn’t cope.

So many people, fortunately, are cosseted when it comes to understanding what the armed forces are doing day to day and it shows when they come out with bollocks like “bring back National Service…” It just won’t work.

You know what helps with instability? Traumatising children.

I’d be interested to know whether you are old enough to have been conscripted or are you just chatting shit!

Thank you for that illegible reply.

Are you an old man then that was conscripted? Highly unlikely so why would anyone listen to these points of view.

It seems to me that the only reason this conversation comes up is that we might need cannon fodder in a war with Russia. No wonder people are so against it. If it was really about contributing to the nation and helping our youth why hasn't this convo happened before the way it's happening now? No thanks. Let the country screw our youth over and then send them off to die for the privilege?

@MagePaige I was thinking about this while walking DS to school and decided my original post slightly misrepresented what they told me so planned to clarify anyway.

They said that they were being introduced to guns - NOT handling them themselves but being shown how to use them, load them and maintain them. I think weapon familiarisation would have been a better term than practise - I really should not post on mumsnet before my first coffee

I don't know to what purpose though

We have a 16 year old Ukrainian refugee living with us. He's very sweet,, very hard working and intelligent. Right now doing GCSEs (tough in a language he only started learning 2 years ago!) . I find it difficult to think that in a couple of years time he could be in the army in a war zone

Nope. You can't drink, drive or vote but here go kill someone?.

Is that standard in cadets? I'm really surprised!

If we want more military personnel why have we been cutting the numbers for the regular armed forces year on year, with estimates it'll be down to 72,500 troops by 2025?

Why would anyone need to invade us anyway? Our assets; gas, water, steel, oil etc are already owned by foreign governments and investors.

Exactly - it's investment in the services and a focus on attractive offers and retention that we need!

@Goldenbear

You only have to look at the increase in crimes in this country if young people to see they lack discipline.

Conscription would give them that discipline- unless as you quoted, you're talking jackshir?

You do realise that conscription wouldn’t actually leave children with no parent at home, right? The uk has a shameful past with regards to conscription and their behaviour towards teenage males, during ww1 specifically. Truly shocking what was allowed to happen and it took far too long for those male teens to be pardoned. 16 year old teenage lads are no more equipped to deal with war than 16 year old teenage girls are. So why would it be acceptable to call males up but not females? It simply feeds into the narrative that males are more comfortable with violence etc too. In places where conscription is still practiced, it is being extended to include females. I don’t agree with conscription, whether you are male or female ( just to be clear). It won’t happen in the uk anyway.

Did expect a detailed report from a single army wife ? It's not even my job .

So I assume you are pondering Conscription in the event of War, but where have you got the idea of reducing the minimum age to 16?

Has this been proposed by someone in any position of authority?

Poverty and inequality increases crime, not a lack of military discipline/training.

https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/what-are-effects-mandatory-military-conscription-crime-and-labour-market

"Our baseline results are striking:

• Military service significantly increases both the likelihood of crime and the number of crimes between ages 23 and 30.

These effects are seen across all crime categories, are quite large in magnitude, and are driven by those with a criminal history prior to service or who come from low socioeconomic status households.

• Given these findings, it is perhaps surprising that we also find large and significant incapacitation effects of conscription, especially for drug and alcohol offences and for traffic crimes.

Unfortunately, our analysis suggests that these effects are not large enough to break a cycle of crime that has already begun prior to service."

Is this Batshit Friday?
What a strange Thread... But there are some weird ones today.
Four Weeks supplies at Supermarkets, Two about schoolgirls Cosplay as animals all day.
Where does @Lovepeaceunderstanding get the idea that their will be armed conflict soon. Is it Funny Mushroom season?

No, the mushrooms come out in the autumn.

Every time there's anything political going off (so every couple of weeks) someone comes on here and starts a thread about war/stockpiling/conscription. Usually started by a first time poster. Journalist? Politician? Who knows eh 🤷🏻‍♀️

My question is if conscription was introduced how on earth would the government expect people to comply? What would they do? Forcibly enter your home and remove your 16 year old?

WWII conscription included single females age 20 - 30 (and childless widows) from 1942.

They were not on the front line but they were there driving, nursing, delivering spitfires, working the land, building munitions, directing anti aircraft fire, code breaking, operating radios, fire watching, air raid patrolling, dispatch riding.

Females in the Fire Brigade were not allowed to fight fires, but riding a motorbike through an air raid is not for the faint hearted.

Also a lot of men were in 'reserved occupations' so were not conscripted.

The blatant sexis is that most people don't know how much war work was carried out by women.

You can tell an election has been called by the redtop neanderthals bishboshing their foreheads against the keyboard hoping that sooner or later a proper word or phrase will appear.

I ask you again, are you a very old Man from the UK, we’re you conscripted?