Mandatory military service

Mandatory military service is a very old form of public service, it is practiced both in the democratic and undemocratic nations. In most countries, practicing mandatory military service starts upon attaining the age of eighteen years or after completing high school studies, before joining institutions of higher learning. The period of the service varies from one country to another with some serving for only six months whereas in other countries, one has to serve up to two years.

After the service, one usually has the choice of either joining the national army or continuing with the civilian life (Qassem, 2009). Conscription is referred to as the obligatory induction of people into the armed forces. It typically involves people who are considered fit for military service. In some countries, governments have instituted mandatory military service where all people of a certain age have to be conscripted. For most governments, mandatory conscription comes into effect when voluntary mobilizations of soldiers fail to meet the needs of the military.

Some countries only adopt it during times of civil war (Qassem, 2009). Therefore, this argumentative research paper argues in favor of why mandatory military service should be adopted among the youths, as opposed to voluntary service. Importance of Undertaking Mandatory Military Service Military service makes people to be more honorable, respectful, disciplined, hard working and also prepares individuals in life early enough. Since it involves teenagers, it leads to a decrease in teenage pregnancies and drug abuse as the youths are engaged in a more productive and adventurous activity.

Therefore, mandatory military service can be a very effective tool in the elimination of many social ills resulting from teenagers who increase in disrespect and dishonesty acts with the passage of each generation. The training benefits conscripts as they are armed with practical life skills which they can easily use to survive. They also become mentally strong, physically fit and knowledgeable in several areas. In some instances, it can be argued that by the time these young men and women are going for the mandatory military service, already the government has invested massively in them and thus they should also serve their nation.

Also, these young men and women have had quite a long time in books ever since they joined the education system and thus they should take a constructive break after they are through with their high school. It is also a chance to discover new ideas and talents which may have not been identified in school (Williams, 2006). The mandatory military service program mainly consists of teenagers. It helps these teens who would normally head to the streets and get spoilt to join the military and receive training, experience, discipline and a source of direction in their troubled lives.

This program also helps in uniting people of different backgrounds such as religion and race in a country, bringing about national cohesion as the citizens are involved in working hard to achieve a common goal. Hence, as the society gets a better work force and good parenthood, the country obtains a unified citizenship. The mandatory military service enables citizens to appreciate both the national security and military. Citizens usually feel blessed and glad for being given a chance to serve their country.

It also makes these young men and women to be all round instead of being focused in a single line in life, this can help them greatly in the development of their career choices (Williams, 2006). The military benefits greatly from mandatory military service with its forces increased dramatically. With only a small increase in its annual expense, it receives a lot of able men and women including very bright fellows who in many cases would avoid joining the armed forces. As a result of military service, there is considerable improvement in the national unity, the society grows healthier and neighborhoods become much safer.

Mandatory military service enables a government to invest enormously in its citizens making them to take their citizenship seriously. Mandatory military service has been proved to be a cost effective defense answer, countries that do not practice mandatory military service usually have a lot of problems in the selection of candidates to join their armed forces as many of the best candidates choose to join other careers leaving only the poor candidates with less alternatives in career choice to join the military thus ending up with a poor force (Williams, 2006).

Despite its major achievements, mandatory military service program has it share of demerits too. Some people argue that the products of the system are immoral, illegal and ineffective. Others believe that they cannot adequately serve in the armed forces since they have low morale and very little motivation. Also there is an argument that the constricts are both mentally and physically unfit to serve in the armed forces and should be provided with education, training and counseling which the armed forces are not capable of providing adequately.

Due to the limitation of time resource, constricts only receive elementary training which can cause a lot of bloodshed in hostile situations (Dorasil, 2006). Mandatory military services have a great impact on a country’s economy, all the young people on the program have to be paid from the government coffers. They are paid even before their efforts have yielded any fruits as they have no experience. The worst case about the whole exercise is that they eventually leave at the pick when they have acquired the required experience to be profitable.

Housing those under the service is also another challenge especially for the developing countries, since having mandatory military service means that the government has to obtain massive chunks of land to build houses for them. Also, most of the young men and women fail to get back on the education path once they are through with the mandatory military service. Some people feel that their rights are violated by being put on the mandatory military service program basing their argument on the fact that they should be given a right to choose what to do, thus they should not be forced to join a program which is not of their choice.

Although the mandatory military service is a big success, most of the developing countries are unable to implement it due to lack of enough funds. Such an enormous undertaking would simply ruin their fragile economies. With such governments rendered incapable of providing other essential amenities such as good health care, education and sound infrastructure, it would be another burden to undertake mandatory military service. Citizens in developing countries should instead consider volunteering in such an exercise while the government should only provide them with the basic needs.

In such a move, both the government and the citizens stand to benefit a lot in the long run as such countries would be more united. Psychologically, an army that is mainly composed of conscripts is not very effective in oppressing citizens in times of unrest since they are first citizens and secondly armies. Some countries practicing mandatory military service have experienced brain drain where the bright and fresh educated youths leave the country in order to avoid the mandatory military service. The youths in such countries perceive the service as a draw back in their future careers (Dorasil, 2006).

Conclusion Even though mandatory military service has some demerits as discussed earlier, it also has very strong merits which cannot be ignored at whatever cost. Most of the advantages cannot be realized in the short run but are eventually achieved in the long run especially in the lives of those who undergo the service. Such people usually have their lives redirected for the better and are usually in a better position to serve their nation in whatever capacity as they are more responsible citizens with a clear sense of direction.

The program should therefore not be stopped in the countries practicing it but should in fact be spread even to other countries. The physically challenged people should be the only category of people that should be exempted since vigorous training is required which due to their disability; they might not be in a position to adequately perform. But all in all, they should be at least taught theoretically so that they also become part of the good work of the mandatory military service.

Nations all over the world should be encouraged to develop mandatory military service since it would have a great positive impact on their citizens. When introducing such a system, the government should consider educating its citizens first so as to reduce or even eliminate resistance which can be very detrimental. The government should also involve all stake holders when trying to adopt such a system; this would help greatly in adopting the best strategy that would best work.

Reference: Dorasil, P. R. (2006): Mandatory National (Military) Service Retrieved on 3rd April 2009 from, http://www. debate-central. org/forum/viewtopic. php? id=30708. Qassem, S. A. (2009): Mandatory military service for our defense and future. Retrieved on 3rd April 2009 from, http://www. silobreaker. com/DocumentReader. aspx? Item=5_2262207041281982471 Williams, A. (2006): Mandatory Military Service Would Benefit the U. S. Retrieved on 3rd April 2009 from, http://archive. newsmax. com/archives/articles/2006/6/18/162837. shtml.

Annotated bibliography: Dorasil, P. R. (2006): Mandatory National (Military) Service Retrieved on 3rd April 2009 from, http://www. debate-central. org/forum/viewtopic. php? id=30708. In this reference the author provides both the good and bad side of the mandatory military service, hence it offers a good comparison between the two stands. Qassem, S. A. (2009): Mandatory military service for our defence and future.

Retrieved on 3rd April 2009 from, http://www. silobreaker. com/DocumentReader. aspx? Item=5_2262207041281982471 – This reference contains the countries that practice the mandatory military service, those that have dropped the system and also those that have never practiced, thus a major source to help a reader identify how the practice has been carried out. Williams, A. (2006): Mandatory Military Service Would Benefit the U. S. Retrieved on 3rd April 2009 from, http://archive. newsmax. com/archives/articles/2006/6/18/162837. shtml. Williams has a very strong feeling that mandatory service is a very effective tool in overcoming several social ills resulting from idle youths and has highlighted the various benefits.

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