Military conscription

[Donotpanicoknowpanic]

There is lots of talk about if ww3 happens then military conscription will happen

This is basically people who sit in an office safely saying we need to either send ourselves or out children to fight and die in horrible conditions

Am I unreasonable to think that anyone who thinks this is a good idea

They should be the first ones to sign up and to lead by example

Any politicians who think this is a good idea, there children should be the first to go

Russia is literally sending troops in wheel chairs and crunches to the front line

So age, disability and gender will not be a problem for anyone who supports any conscription policy's, they can go first

Also the UK will not be invaded, we are not Ukrainian, If we were more like Ukraine I would be more in favour of this as the country itself is under threat

Coming to their aid doesn't mean the UK and all other NATO countries would immediately round up every able-bodied adult and ship them off to Poland with a gun, obviously. They'd send their professional armies first, including people who joined up voluntarily, and conscription would only happen as a last resort if that still wasn't enough to counter the Russian army and it eventually looked like they might pose a genuine threat to the UK. If things got that far then nuclear war would be a real possibility, making conscription a moot point anyway. Fortunately I think Russia has neither the capability nor the desire to invade the UK (to be honest, I doubt they have serious intentions to invade Poland either), so this is highly unlikely to happen.

Sorry, intended to quote this above.

You do know ww2 only got as bad as it did because the British Government appeased Hitler and let him cross the line repeatedly and bought war to British door steeps?

It's all good and well saying well we aren't being invaded so why should we go is not obscenely selfish it's also incredibly stupid because tyrants don't stop they want more and more.

Also without conscription the British Forces aren't large enough any more to take any invading force on.

Yes I have served and ultimately anyone that wants to live in a free country should serve. Including you OP, your children, your partner and your great aunt Nora.

Weirdly the ones who have never seen a moments military service

I am far too old to be conscripted, but would join the Home Guard. My Nan was in the ARP in WW2, so maybe I could do that.

You do know ww2 only got as bad as it did because the British Government appeased Hitler and let him cross the line repeatedly and bought war to British door steeps?

Had you lived through WW! (you didn't) and had you lost all your brothers, your father and his brothers (you didn't) your husband and your sons (you didn't) then maybe, just maybe, you would have felt that nothing would be too great a price to pay to avoid it happening again.

We have hindsight. They didn't.

My DGM was generally very laid back. But when I started getting "into politics" and asked why people couldn't see how evil Hitler was at the time she got quite stern and explained the above to me. She didn't blame those who desperately tried to avert war. If I remember correctly it was her that mentioned Kipling .....

My grandfathers were in reserved occupation in the stew world in South Wales. I am lucky that neither went to war. My maternal grandfather was part of the Home Guard.

I appreciate you being a person of your words

And willing to do yourself what you expect others to do

No I didn't but I'm just a little bitter from the fact a very large chunk of my family was wiped out and considered collateral damage because of that reluctance.

Also during the war the Allies could have bombed the trains going into the camps and saved literally millions but again wasn't considered a priority.

Just because something is understandable doesn't mean it was right or people can't have feelings about it.

Also during the war the Allies could have bombed the trains going into the camps and saved literally millions but again wasn't considered a priority.

A couple of points:

Bombing the trains would have killed the people inside them.

The Germans were very efficient at repairing railway lines and no trains would have just meant people walking instead. Like they had to towards the end of the war.

Sadly, if not this, then that.

And I am a little off with this weird narrative that it was really British inaction that somehow made Germany do what Germany did.

There are all sorts of counterfactuals that you can work as an academic exercise if you can't leave the house. But at some point you end up realising that when history moves in tides, using a teaspoon to try and shift an ocean will have no effect. Even if you used a million teaspoons.

And ultimately whatever view you may or may not have or form about various countries behaviours in the past, unless you actually use it to inform the future, along with enough people to make a difference, then it's all rather moot.

Op you mentioned WW3 and conscription, I think if we got to WW3 things we'd be past conscription, weapons have moved on a bit since WW2. If our troops need to defend Nato there won't be instant conscription but things escalate and once we've stepped over that line into fighting for our liberty no one is going to back down until someone wins. No one wants war, I don't want war and I don't want conscription but there is a lot of political instability right now and things could deteriorate. Would you just sit in your house and wait to be captured or will you fight? None of us really know how we would feel but humans have an inate instinct to defend themselves when threatened.

Gender,age and any other reason should not be an excuse? I'm 62 with quite bad mobility and health issues and I know that there is no way that I would be capable of being in the military! I'd be more of a liability than an asset!

Im sure there could be some jobs you could do. Rather than risking the life of someone who has their whole life ahead of them

Suggestions on a postcard please.

I think everyone is missing the point, with quite a large percentage of youngsters these days not identifying as male or female who do you think is going to be man enough to fight.

Op you mentioned WW3 and conscription, I think if we got to WW3

I am mildly amused by the assumption we aren't already there.

Believe it or not, it's not universally recognised that WW2 "began" in 1939. Yes, it did for Britain. But as a world war, we were johnny come latelys (and the US more so).

So, how much of the world was fighting before 1939?

China and Japan. Germany and Czechoslovakia.

Your point being ?

That WW2 started in September 1939.

Britain joined WW2 in 1939. It wasn't all about us, you know.

I'm agnostic as to whether it could be Japan invading China or the invasion of Czechoslovakia. I would be fascinated to know what someone from those countries or former countries believe.

It's a little like bands, really. I mean you could argue that Deep Purple Mk II were "Deep Purple". However that rather forgets that there was a Deep Purple Mk I in 1967.

If Deep Purple doesn't work, try Fleetwood Mac

It's almost as if I don't take the notion of conscription in the UK seriously ....

Great response and thank you 🌻

I consider myself left leaning generally. I regularly butt heads with people who i feel are being anti-immigration, pro-Trump, GB News watchers etc. I received a disciplinary a few years ago because I called a racist a racist.

This is an excellent post imo that articulates perfectly how I feel about conscription.

Like fuck will my DC be forced to fight for this (now) general shit show of a country or the giant wanker in charge of it.

With drones it’s different anyway. Depressingly so. Maybe what you list isn’t needed.

Do you think it would be easy working with an influx of people who don’t want to be there?

For some of us, that is a daily routine ...

Thank you for your service. I am well aware that it's because of you, I don't have to do it.

E2A: The first step to any conscription would be calling up people on reserve. My friend in the RAF was caught by that when she left in 1989 ....