Poll: Do you support compulsory military service?

[thahat]

No. I only have to watch the typical American highway for 5 minutes to determine that putting those dumb bastards behind an M16 is going to cause some serious friendly fire problems, as if we didn't already have enough. Heaven forbid they get their hands on a Hummer or a Tank...they'll find a way to get them stuck. Or hit a tree. In the desert.

Yes, they're that inept.

So no compulsory service for America. It'd ruin our military.

and as american soldiers arent the most shining bunch in any case, this would be catastrophical ( not counting your special forces guys, seals, etc. they rock as they should )

me though, i say yeah a year of service, in one way or another, would be a good thing, for us i nthe netherlands anyway, it'd put some hair on our chests, and it would be a good way to beat those no good imported punks into some for of reason XD

 

[Marowit]

Yep, I think it should be. CMS would make it much more difficult to run such frivolous wars if people were being drafted.

 

[crazyfoxdemon]

I don't support CMS.. But I do support the draft. It allows the country to use its own troops without having to rely on private security contractors.. Which, incidently, are paid better then our own soldiers..

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Sort of.

I think CRS is better. Compulsory Retail Service.

At age 17, on the nearest Christmas to your 18th birthday, you get drafted.

For the next month, you have to work Saturdays on the checkout in your local supermarket. You can't quit, but you can ***** and moan all you want.

After that month's up, you can drink, do drugs, have sex, whatever you want.

But first...you need to understand what it's like for those people working near-minimum wage who have to put up with the rest of you and your bollocks all day.

Then the world will be a better place, because you'll think back and say "Wow, I remember how that really annoyed me. I won't do that this time."

Who's with me?

 

[Astoria]

No, it's not right to force people into anything and some of those people would just have no military skills or smarts at all so they would just be doing more harm than good.

 

[FalloutJack]

Nnnope. 'Cause then they'd want ME. And you know what? I don't want to be wanted.

 

[Burs]

Sorry guys but I believe in neither I go for Compulsory Civil Service you can go ahead and join the forces but other jobs need doing too: hospital porters, Civil labourers, Civil Administrators, Street Cleaning, the Special Constabulary, the Retained Fire Service, Airport Fire Services, Foresters, etc

 

[Karma168]

No. CMS is basically a prison sentence for those who have committed no crime. If you want to join the military, you do it voluntarily. No man who wishes to avoid serving should ever be forced to, period.

Prison sentence? really? I'd hardly call having guaranteed employment and freedom to go where you want except when on duty a prison sentence.

If you didn't want to do it then there is a conscientious objection rule that would allow you to avoid military service. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscientious_objector

If there is ever a draft, or a non-wartime form of conscription is ever instated in my country, I will not serve. If they send men to my place of residence to force me to go, I will not answer the door for them. If they break it down to try and take me, I will treat them like any other intruder- I will defend myself, with lethal force if needed. That is the extent to which I oppose any form of conscription.

You do realise by doing that you would ruin your easiest chance at avoiding service. By peacefully objecting you can avoid serving, by killing the people sent to conscript you you would just end up in jail for the rest of your life or dead. Is that worth it to avoid joining the military?

 

[Uncreation]

No. CMS is basically a prison sentence for those who have committed no crime. If you want to join the military, you do it voluntarily. No man who wishes to avoid serving should ever be forced to, period.

Prison sentence? really? I'd hardly call having guaranteed employment and freedom to go where you want except when on duty a prison sentence.

If you didn't want to do it then there is a conscientious objection rule that would allow you to avoid military service. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscientious_objector

If there is ever a draft, or a non-wartime form of conscription is ever instated in my country, I will not serve. If they send men to my place of residence to force me to go, I will not answer the door for them. If they break it down to try and take me, I will treat them like any other intruder- I will defend myself, with lethal force if needed. That is the extent to which I oppose any form of conscription.

You do realise by doing that you would ruin your easiest chance at avoiding service. By peacefully objecting you can avoid serving, by killing the people sent to conscript you you would just end up in jail for the rest of your life or dead. Is that worth it to avoid joining the military?

Maybe in his country he doesn't have that option. I'm sure there are countries where the whole conscientious objector thing is not in effect.

 

[Karma168]

Maybe in his country he doesn't have that option. I'm sure there are countries where the whole conscientious objector thing is not in effect.

Perhaps, from what I've read from the wiki page the UN human rights commission has rules hat protect objectors from persecution for refusing to serve. My point was that resorting to violence wouldn't solve the problem and that there is always a peaceful solution somewhere.

 

[ryai458]

No because most people are too dumb and fat to even be eligible for the military, and all volunteer militaries are much more effective.

 

[Lionsfan]

if i was conscripted, i'd at least ask to be off the front lines.
Also, i think its sexist that only men can be deployed on front lines.

It's not being sexist, it's just being practical. Woman have the annoying tendency of being able to get pregnant, so to be on the safe side they make sure they don't deploy. And it's still the fact that most of our military is predominantly male so it's not really a big issue.

OT: I don't really think so, there's just so many people in the country it would be too hard to figure out how to sort out all the new recruits who would only be in it for around 2 years (if we're going off other countries mandatory service policy) and it just wouldn't work out. And they wouldn't want to be there. When people enlist it's typically for a 4-6 year period, training takes up about 1.5 years but that's still around 3 years of use the Military gets out an enlistee. And the enlistee's are what the military is built on; people who voluntarily signed up, so they know exactly what they're getting into. So unless it's an extreme emergency I don't support Compulsory Military Service.

Compulsory Retail Service.

Who's with me?

This is a genius idea, people living off Mommy and Daddies Trust Fund need to learn what it's like on the other side. Knock those cheeky fuckers down a peg or two

 

[Uncreation]

Maybe in his country he doesn't have that option. I'm sure there are countries where the whole conscientious objector thing is not in effect.

Perhaps, from what I've read from the wiki page the UN human rights commission has rules hat protect objectors from persecution for refusing to serve. My point was that resorting to violence wouldn't solve the problem and that there is always a peaceful solution somewhere.

I don't know what the UN does or does not have, but i'm telling you, in my country, until CMS was abolished, you HAD to serve. I've never heard of being left alone cause you were a constientious objector. The only way they didn't take you was if you had a medical condition, for religious reasons (but it only worked for some religions, mostly really obscure ones, that had only a handful of follower in the entire country) or if you were in college (in which case they wouldn't take you that year). Out of all my friend, relatives, etc. i have never heard anything about getting away this easilly.

Of course, there were ways of cheating the system. > But i didn't have to resort to that fortunately.

 

[blind_dead_mcjones]

nooo

reason being is it simply creates more problems than it solves, aside from the issue of having to wade through 10 times as much junk to get the 'diamonds in the rough' so to speak, forcibly enrolling unmotivated people into the armed forces does not motivate them or 'build character' in the slightest, if there is a way for them to avoid doing something they can and will find said way and exploit it for as long as possible

 

[SckizoBoy]

No... however, I do believe in a form of National Service.

Let people choose between the emergency services (but not firefighting 'cos... you know, of all the fire) and the military services and do a stint. If they like it, great, they can continue, but if they don't, meh, do it for the exercise and discipline. In the good old days, the Armed Forces would pay for you to go to uni... wonder if that still happens.

But, one thing I will forever disagree with, is the deployment of non-professional military personnel overseas. You sign up for the Territorial Army, you expect to be called up when there is a direct threat to your nation's security. Anyone who mentions Iraq's WMDs? Well, yes, that's why there is a regular army.

I guess most people here are pissed that the TA/National Guard's been posted out...?

(on all counts, please correct me if wrong)

 

[SirDoom]

No. CMS is basically a prison sentence for those who have committed no crime. If you want to join the military, you do it voluntarily. No man who wishes to avoid serving should ever be forced to, period.

Prison sentence? really? I'd hardly call having guaranteed employment and freedom to go where you want except when on duty a prison sentence.

If you didn't want to do it then there is a conscientious objection rule that would allow you to avoid military service. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscientious_objector

If there is ever a draft, or a non-wartime form of conscription is ever instated in my country, I will not serve. If they send men to my place of residence to force me to go, I will not answer the door for them. If they break it down to try and take me, I will treat them like any other intruder- I will defend myself, with lethal force if needed. That is the extent to which I oppose any form of conscription.

You do realise by doing that you would ruin your easiest chance at avoiding service. By peacefully objecting you can avoid serving, by killing the people sent to conscript you you would just end up in jail for the rest of your life or dead. Is that worth it to avoid joining the military?

The thing is, conscientious objectors are usually forced into non-combat roles, and being forced to work in a military hospital (or hell, even as a mail worker) against your will is just as bad.

Picture the same scenario in a private setting. The person in question has signed no contract, and owes no debt which they must work off. They are free to go anywhere they like in the 16 hours of the day when they aren't working. But, in that 8 hours, they are forced into a job which they can't quit. It does not matter if they already had a job, or had other commitments. They MUST work for that company for a year, and if they refuse, they get prison. Tell me, is that acceptable? If this situation was forced upon any man today, would the courts not side with him in a case?

No, that's involuntary servitude. You could argue it's "for his own good." You could argue that it's a guaranteed source of income for him for that year. That doesn't change anything. Any court which found this happening would end the practice immediately. Why should the government get special rights to do exactly what anyone else is forbidden to?
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As for the second part, it's on principle. I am (mostly) a pacifist, yes. I believe the only time it is ever ok to injure another person is in direct self defense (ie- while they are in the process of trying to hurt you). But, as mentioned above, the entire system is just wrong in my book. I shouldn't have to dance around saying "I'm a pacifist with flat feet, hemophilia, and an inability to work with other people without bursting into flames" to avoid something that is just plain wrong to begin with. Nobody, not even the perfectly obedient soldier type who holds pride in their country to the highest honor, should even be subject to involuntary servitude.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Not only is it violating peoples right, but it is downright stupid and pointless.

Those weekend soldiers aren't worth shit, you need to spend time and resources on training professional soldiers with proper equipment who will yield results, no just some rag-tag band of kids that will only be good for soaking up led.

 

[mxfox408]

Depends i dont think it should be forced but lets say world war 3 happens and our countries survival then im all for it, besides as a former ranger, it wouldnt bother me.

 

[mxfox408]

Not only is it violating peoples right, but it is downright stupid and pointless.

Those weekend soldiers aren't worth shit, you need to spend time and resources on training professional soldiers with proper equipment who will yield results, no just some rag-tag band of kids that will only be good for soaking up led.

Politicians need to let the military soldiers do thier jobs and stop knit picking.