The reaction to National Service on here

[MaryMaryVeryContrary]

Many European countries (including Scandinavian countries) have NS. Are they ‘ridiculous’? Or are their much-coveted-by-Mumsnet-users communities better because of their sense of individual responsibility and contribution?

If 24 days (that’s how long it would be in total) of delivering prescriptions or volunteering as a hospital guide has you talking about human rights violations and Nazi Germany, then it’s very clear that you’re so pampered a bit of NS would do you good.

Everyone on here expects the world in terms of a ’village’, generous benefits, a caring society, but wants to do fuck all to contribute to it and think the notion of them having to do ANYTHING for anyone else is insane.

It’s nuts!

Agree.

Fucking sick to the back teeth of the Tories. Just fuck off Rishi.

I'm not suggesting we have no reason to worry but there if there was no point building bunkers in the 80s there will certainly be no point now. Do you think there will be one bomb dropped and that is it?

@YourPinkDog and I recon Ben Wallance and Jens Stoltenberg are Russians trolls?

You made me laugh.

I think use of nuclear missiles is unlikely. Far more likely is a use of conventional weapons.

@Goldenberg that is exactly the way of thinking represented by most of the society. A war is a 🎥 🍿 thing
https://news.sky.com/video/nato-admiral-says-we-are-preparing-for-war-with-russia-13051400

Is that what the Russia propaganda tells you?. If they start dropping bombs on countries with nuclear weapons there is a very good chance that it will start a nuclear war.

Okay. But per the data posted they volunteer a negligible amount more than people aged 16-24 do, when most people 65-75 are retired so have plenty of spare time compared to young people. So where is the evidence that young people need to be forced to volunteer more while also working and studying? If anything the evidence seems to demonstrate that many pensioners are sitting around doing very little at all.

@Nepmarthiturn a lot of young people volunteering are volunteering for career reasons, not out of altruism. Many will never volunteer again.

So what? Many pensioners volunteer because they are bored and want something to do, make friends etc. Noone says it has to be entirely altruistic.

Doing the round on the Forces forums. These are your little cherubs.

I don't get it?

Alexandra2001 · Today 14:47
Persimonne72 · Today 14:36

another one who knows better than NATO generals 🤦🏼‍♀️😀
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Ha ha Generals talking up war, now there's a thing!!! its literally what they are paid to do during peacetime.
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However, it would be prudent to increase defence spending and not include pensions in the figures, which is what the Tories have done.
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You think we are nearer war than during the Berlin Air lift, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Cuban missile crisis (which had its origins in Europe/Turkey) ?
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I'm old enough to remember 1000s of tanks facing each other across East and West Germany....
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Like i said, Russia cannot even defeat a nation without an airforce and 10th of its size...
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However, you ve convinced me never to vote LD, quite a rude lot, if you re anything to go by.”

Hear, hear, @Alexandra2001 .

@Persimonne72 seems to be positively salivating at the idea of a looming WW3.

Born in the early 60s, I can recall most of the crises you mention. The Sunday mornings as a young teenager feeling bloody terrified as Brian Walden or Peter Jay interviewed all of the Generals and Politicians in the know who to the man predicted WW3 and told us to put mattresses against our doors, paint our windows white and stock up on tins. Put your head between your knees and kiss your arse goodbye would probably have been more useful advice had their dire predictions come true.

They didn’t, of course.

It didn’t happen then and it won’t happen now. Russia is limping along, barely able to equip and feed its troops. Civil dissent is growing aa the state increasingly fails to limit the information its populace is anble to glean from the outside world. Its nuclear arsenal is old and knackered, as is its leader. Hopefully, Botox notwithstanding, he doesn’t have long to go.

Personally, I’m more concerned about the self-serving madman who is Netanyahu but I think in the end sense will prevail and the West will reign him in (and hopefully lock him up, along with Trump).

So stop with the bloody scaremongering, @Persimonne72. people have enough to deal with getting through the month atm without armchair generals talking up panic.

😄😄

I personally agree with conscription. I come from a country where it was a thing until about 20 years ago, and it was a great thing. Lads learned new skills, friendships made, they've grown into men. Unfortunately kids nowadays wouldn't know how to hack it though.

I bet you know nothings about "kids nowadays". 18 years olds learn new skills by studying and working. If anything things are a lot harder for them now than 30 years ago.

18 year olds being "conscripted" now for a short period means they are signed up as reservists for decades afterwards. Maybe there is more to this than meets the eye!

Stop being hysterical and stop panicking then. This is not a mature approach. Observe what is happeninginstead of rationalisinb, remember about what I said in a year or two. The amount of weapons, tanks, ships, planes that NATO just sent to Eastern flank of NATO is baffling. Every day my at night my friends living in Eastern Poland observe trains after trains with weapons, tanks, lorries...
Yes, many generals are saying that we are closer to the war than ever since 1945. Read any news.

Btw in case you are new to any forum as it seems bold is for quoting somebody only.

And don't assume you are the oldest and therefore wisest. Not everybody brags about their age. Observe.

Wombat what you written doesn't make sense. Do you read news at all? It is entirely opposite, Russia continously keeps threatening UK with the nuclear missles. With the Poseidon Saharov underwater nuke, with nuke strike etc. This is what is Russian propaganda

My opinion is that the more they talk about something the less likely it happen in particular because there would be an instant revenge. This country has what 240 nukes?! And 5 has just been recently delivered by US

Of course I read the news. By Russian propaganda I was talking about what is out there on social media. So your views on what they are likely to do and the need for troops, shelters etc are just your own opinion on not based on anything you have read?

I think Persimonne might need help for her illogical anxiety about these things.

Stop projecting onto me your fears. People are in denial and your post is an example of reverse psychology. Calm down, nobody knows what is ahead of any of us.

I have absolutely zero fears. You are the one who seems unecesarily fearful (talk of being in denial etc). I sincerely hope you get some help soon.

@wombat15 I base my understanding on what generals and NATO secretary and admiral are saying and not random posts on social media.
About shelters/bunkers- Estonia is bulding 600 shelters, Lithuania is bulding shelters for 31 perc of society. Poland is revisiting each shelter and renovating it, 30 mln has been allocated only for new shelters in Warsaw, Sweden is spending 40 mln for shelters since 2021, Norway has bunkers/shelters for 40 perc of nation, Switzerland for all nations and are constantly renovated - other countriess too. I can provide you links to the specific articles if you wish. UK not only has hardly any anti air strike protection but the way of building in UK is that most houses doesn't even have cellars.

Not sure what you mean about troops. I don't believe in a need of general conscription for civilians in Uk because it is an island and defence is based on specialist RAF and Navy forces. What is needed is training on how to act if something is happening and that is why suggested to include a subject at school.

For a person who doesn't have fear you spend too much time indulging yourself in projecting alleged " fear" on random nick on mumsnet as if you wanted to prove something just because they have other vision than you. Please talk about the topic and refrain from ad personam references, it is very immature.

Sorry but the amount of equipment sent to NATOs eastern flank is tiny compared to the stuff NATO had in West Germany during the Cold War.

UK alone, had 1200 main battle tanks and an Army of 160k men in 1990, today we have around 200 MBT's, our infantry is is around 25k.

West Germany had 7000 MBT's in the 80's... and an Army of 500k men.

Russia simply has not the means anymore to start a war in Europe.

That doesn't mean we have to sit back and do nothing as Russia re arms, we need to as well but war is not on the horizon, the NATO exercise is designed to show the Russians what we still have, Russia will be looking at this exercise closely and NATO knows it.

Of course trains are heading into Ukraine, how else will $62 billion worth of military aid get to the UA front line?

Its illogical to say we are more at risk of war since 1945, 1991 maybe.