The Military and YOU!!!

[shannon.archer]

I'm sure itally has some sort of national service scheme where you have to serve two years in the forces once you turn 18.

 

[Somthing]

Snip

Britain used to have National Service and there are some thoughts that it ought to come back but I can't be arsed to explain the pros and cons, I'm sure you can look it up.

In case you're worried about your own national service my best friend is a Dane who did it when he was about 18 and he looks back on it as one of the best times of his life.

Not really worried im actually kinda lookin forward to it (if i get called)

 

[I Stomp on Kittens]

Well in Australia it's purely a choice thing. I have no intention of ever joining the military and no one can ever make me.

Same here. I don't want to be sent to die.

 

[Somthing]

So yesterday i was in a sort of meeting with military personnel from my country where you get told about the military and get your sight, hearing, intelligence etc tested. This is due to the fact that in Norway when you become 18 you may be called into service for the military. Now this session i was at yesterday is basically just the start and if i get a letter from the military saying ill be called in ill be going to the army for about a year.

So while i was thinking of my own possible entrance into the army i started to wonder if other countries got a similar system setup or if its just us ex-vikings up here.

So please tell me where you are from and your experiences with tha army ^^.

Hiya, fellow ex-viking!

I just returned from the same thing 15 minutes ago. I was in the beautiful city of Trondheim.

Pray tell which wishes you made for your military service?

I chose the dog service squad, I have two dogs myself, so I'd very much like to work with some. My second and third choice were regular infantry/cavalery and artillery respectively.

I might be be stationed at the Russian border, though, considering the dog squad, which I'd rather not.

[small]Disclaimer: I've no intentions of derailing your thread, I'm just curious.[/small]

I set up /artillery/infantry then the Military police thing were you might end up watching over important military personnel and get trained more in city combat and others. I thought about dog squad since i like dogs and got one but big guns is just........ BIG GUNS!!!! anyways ive never been to Trondheim heard its nice Oslo here ^^

 

[Goodluf]

As some others have mentioned here, we still have conscription in Finland. It is something like this:

Every male serves. Period. Once you're 18, we have the draft where we are told of our options and we give our preferences on when, where and what specialization we'd like to serve in. They either listen or they don't, depending on available openings. The service must be finished with by the time you're 27 (I think). Shortest course is basic gunnery man/infantry soldier etc. with 6 months of service. Specializations, such as medics, military police last 9 months. And leadership training for NCO squad leaders and NCO second lieutenants lasts for 12 months. Non-weaponized service (ie. never touch a rifle) is 9 months minimum regardless of service branch, but most go for truck drivers or medics and such that lasts that long anyways.

Then for those pussies who wish to weasel themselves out of this draft, there is the civilian service of 13 months.

Women can volunteer (and some do), but they are not drafted like us men.

I'm a bit envious about the OT:s situation, as you only MAY get called there based on your preliminary results. In my oppinion, the tests we had before were not very thorough. Anyways, I'm not too exited about my service time, so I'll try my best to get it over with in six months...Actually that might be a bad idea, as if I do my best they may deem me "qualified" enough for an officers training, which I do not want.

We should really think about changing our current military system here as it feels a bit pointless to sustain it at such a large scale. That's just my oppinion.

And:

Finland still has conscription. An outdated system, in a way. I was in the army for two years.

Wow, that is a long time to serve. I couldn't even think about staying there that long, it just doesn't appeal to me. I suppose you enjoyed your time there as you stayed for two years?

 

[Lord Mountbatten Reborn]

Nope, in the UK it's just volunteering.

However, the army seems to get a shitload of advertising. We went to some sort of college choice convention, and all the colleges had some small crappy stalls, while the army had their own corner to themselves.

We call it the "Draft" over here in America, and we abolished that back after ol' WW2.

Uh, vietnam anyone?

Wow, I'm surprised he didn't know that.

 

[jasoncyrus]

snip

Napalm it is then.

 

[slackbheep]

Short answer: I'm Canadian.

 

[JWAN]

We call it the "Draft" over here in America, and we abolished that back after ol' WW2.

? check that again, we still have the draft its just inactive unless the President enacts it.
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German has mandatory military service, but I know that its "not like it used to be" e.x, I know a guy that got out of the low crawl through mud test because he said that he was allergic to the mud, my Sergent would've told him to build up an immunity by crawling through it about a dozen times lol.

 

[JWAN]

So yesterday i was in a sort of meeting with military personnel from my country where you get told about the military and get your sight, hearing, intelligence etc tested. This is due to the fact that in Norway when you become 18 you may be called into service for the military. Now this session i was at yesterday is basically just the start and if i get a letter from the military saying ill be called in ill be going to the army for about a year.

So while i was thinking of my own possible entrance into the army i started to wonder if other countries got a similar system setup or if its just us ex-vikings up here.

So please tell me where you are from and your experiences with tha army ^^.

Israel, South Korea, Singapore, France, Switzerland all have mandatory military service as far as I know. Though only for guys. Israel's draft might apply to women as well though.

you forgot about Germany, that's mandatory 4 years or something

 

[rainman2203]

I find it ironic that Norway (one of my favorite countries that I've never been to) has conscription, yet hasn't had a notable presence in any recent military conflicts to my (admittedly less than informed) knowledge. Here in the US, meanwhile, the military is voluntary and yet we're openly embroiled in conflicts in multiple countries. It seems backwards to me.

Then again, I guess you guys get free health care... (pokes hornets nest)

 

[JWAN]

Iceland does not have an army so no, i do know that our uncles in Denmark have a similar system to what you just described though.

You have the Icelandic National Police though.
Lol, The Bahamas spends more money on national defense than you do, Im not trying to crack a joke, I'm just trying to figure out whats so damn worth spending defenses on in the Bahamas.

Is somebody going to steal their sand?

 

[ryderawsome]

switzerland has mandatory service (mind they are always a nuetral party so its not like any actual combat will take place) i think further east you go more often u see it. asian countrys like nam and korea and the likes

 

[oldMcDouche]

in fact i'm a soldier right now for that very reason you posted in the OP.

military service at the age of 18. but here its only for half a year. we're neutral and surrounded by countries of the EU so there isnt really a need for a good army here.

 

[JWAN]

I find it ironic that Norway (one of my favorite countries that I've never been to) has conscription, yet hasn't had a notable presence in any recent military conflicts to my (admittedly less than informed) knowledge. Here in the US, meanwhile, the military is voluntary and yet we're openly embroiled in conflicts in multiple countries. It seems backwards to me.

Then again, I guess you guys get free health care... (pokes hornets nest)

Holy crap dont go there, this thread is doing just fine.
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I'm surprised that the United States is ranked 28 for countries who spend money of defenses and the military I would have thought in the top 10.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2034rank.html?countryName=Iceland&countryCode=ic&regionCode=eu&rank=173#ic

 

[JWAN]

well the U.S. doesn't have a draft anymore (used to back in history times) but it's a volunteer-type deal over here in teh west.

The president can still call it up though. Lets say some country with extreme disregard of self respect tries to invade us, for example, the Bahamas, lets say they get further than 16 yards off the shore and invade Rhode Island, the president can call up the draft.

 

[Ares Tyr]

I was raised in a military family, and I'm a member of the U.S. military.

My father was a Marine Infantry soldier first, then he joined the U.S. Army, and now he works full time for the Army National Guard in South Carolina. I'm a part-time Guardsman myself. I'm a paralegal specialist. I'm using it mostly to get through school, though I plan on becoming an officer through ROTC. I was thinking about attempting to be a Buddhist Chaplain (one of the very, very, very few).

I'm no coward, and I'm definetly good at soldier skills (I shot a 37/40 Expert last time I went to a range, and I've been in martial arts since my adolescence), but I'm a peace loving hippie at the end of the day, and I'd rather help people than kill them. Though I wouldn't hesitate if I had to protect myself or others, I'm not the aggressive "kicking down doors and killing the enemy" type of guy.