that's a philosophy that's changing in most modern amries. In an aesymetrical battle feild, it's often the REMF's that take the brunt of ambushes as the enemy is aware they are more vulnerable as targets.

While I agree with compulsery SERVICE (not necesarrily military), I think it is a very delicate situation. I think, at least in the US, when you graduate highschool, or if you are a droppout when you turn 18, you should have many choices of mandatory service. I think the military should have more benefits than the others but its not the only choice. Maybe some choices like: Military, Community services like Firemen, police, construction workter, and a wide variety of others that are all beneficial to the nation. I believe that whatever country you happen to call home you should have enough pride to do something to better it and if you dont, then you should leave. Maybe even that everyone gets basic training. Everyone could use a little discipline.

Originally Posted by Knightraptor

While I agree with compulsery SERVICE (not necesarrily military), I think it is a very delicate situation. I think, at least in the US, when you graduate highschool, or if you are a droppout when you turn 18, you should have many choices of mandatory service. I think the military should have more benefits than the others but its not the only choice. Maybe some choices like: Military, Community services like Firemen, police, construction workter, and a wide variety of others that are all beneficial to the nation. I believe that whatever country you happen to call home you should have enough pride to do something to better it and if you dont, then you should leave. Maybe even that everyone gets basic training. Everyone could use a little discipline.

Problem: Cost.

Do you realize how much it would cost the nation to have... what, 4 million more people in the military? You really want to pay for that? Not to mention the fact that America's armed forces would turn into a human-wave army since they wouldn't have money to spend on R&D and technology.

And I'm not even going to mention how annoying it would be to waste 4 years of my life in a pointless career path for people such as myself. If you're going to MIT then you don't want to go into the military and the military doesn't want to have to deal with your scrawney eggheadded self either, so why force it?

That's why I like my plan where you take the kids who are highschool dropouts and low performers and teach them what their parents didn't while freeing up better people for more demanding tasks within the armed forces. It will work a lot better for our society than welfare and will not cost too much more than what we're already paying.

Yup, that's the problem.
However, sending everyone through a month or two of boot camp may actually work out. Active duty? No way.

Originally Posted by Whispering Death

Personally, instead of holding kids back with these stupid "No Child Left Behind" tests in America, I think we should have a test at the end of highschool. If you fail it, you are forced to go into the military because in the military they will make something out of you whereas in civilian life you'd end up night managing an IHOP or join the 2 million in jail.

Pay for it by knocking out pensions, medical, GI bill, and such for those put through compulurally.

So one with disabilitys should not be helped in any way in school?

Originally Posted by AlexKall

So one with disabilitys should not be helped in any way in school?

No, the idea of compulsury military service is to provide discipline and worthwhile skills (i.e. machine maintanence) to those slackers who would end up leaching off of our society. I wouldn't "punnish" people with learning disabilities by forcing them into the military, I think our Country's current efforts for people with learning disabilities are adequate.

People with real disabilities are exempt anyways.

Personally, instead of holding kids back with these stupid "No Child Left Behind" tests in America, I think we should have a test at the end of highschool. If you fail it, you are forced to go into the military because in the military they will make something out of you whereas in civilian life you'd end up night managing an IHOP or join the 2 million in jail.

Pay for it by knocking out pensions, medical, GI bill, and such for those put through compulurally.

It has some good sides but also very bad sides. The good sides are they'd probably get trained to be model citizens and good people but the bad side is it would split the country apart. People would be outraged at the idea of putting kids into the military against their will.

Take Canada for example during The Great War WW1. Compulsory Military Service with the Conscription crisis. It split the country in two. In the end the people that were ordered to do service never showed up.

Well yeah, but the Anglo-French divide's been around since Wolfe took Canada on the plains of Abraham.

I think that mandatory service could actually be beneficial, especially if it requires a heavy pt routines. This could help to solve the rising obesity rate in North America.

Whispering Death, you need to get a grip. I am NOT giving up my pension or my med benefits to field a huge army of misfits. No way - no how.

"If you're going to MIT then you don't want to go into the military and the military doesn't want to have to deal with your scrawney eggheadded self either"

I was Phi Beta Kappa at Syracuse University. So much for your disparaging of "eggheads".

Compulsory service? There's an old maxim: "You get what you pay for". People forced into service will never have the same professionalism of volunteers who get something more than a control over their weight problem. We got rid of it, it was the right thing to do, and nothing short of a massive national emergency (i.e. WWIII) is going to bring it back.