Should joining the army be mandatory?
Mandatory military service has been a field of controversy between people for a long while. According to Nicholas A. Krehbiel (2016), compulsory military service has started during the cold war in Europe but ended in UK by 1963. Almost all European countries, except for the UK, consider the military service as an obligation for men ageing from 18-25 years old. However, it is quite questionable if this is acceptable or not. Some people claim that it is catastrophic for men’s psychological and physical health and that it is not truly advantageous, nonetheless, it was proven that the pros of mandatory military service outweighed its cons. Put in another way, military service for both men and women should be mandatory as it is thoroughly auspicious, in terms of building a powerful army, equalising rights between men and women and finally improving mental and physical health for the people joining.
To start with, obligatory military service helps build a strong army for the countries so that they can always be qualified enough and ready to fight at any time. North Korea, for instance, is at a steady stage of the war. As a result, they are exerting all the efforts they have to always have a proficient army who is loyal for the country and ready to fight for it. Moreover, it is being researched if they could aim at obliging women to join the army as well as men, in order to start taking steps towards completely equalizing the rights between men and women, and ending the patriarchal history. As most of the crimes that re committed around the world are against women, considering them as the delicate gender that hasn’t got enough physical ability to defend themselves, military service will teach them how to fight for themselves and for their country. Last but not least, compulsory military service would advance mental and physical health for the youth. In other words, trainings that people go through in the army plays a huge role in body building youth and teaching them techniques for quick responses and how to think critically when they are short of time. They are also taught a whole lot of survival skills that would help them survive in certain situations.
Opponents may suggest that mandatory military service wipe away all youth’s freedom and violates free will, as well as claiming that not everyone is fit enough to join the army. According to Natalie Regoli, it was mentioned that some people with mental, physical and psychological issues are not fit enough to join the army, which is considered as a form of abuse for such people. In addition to this, people also claim that joining the army would interfere with their education process as the age 18 is the peak of learning and joining the army would get in the way of their career. It is also said that people who are forced into the army are less likely to perform their best that volunteers, therefore the strength of the army is at risk.
In fact, people who claim that the obligation of joining the army is a sort of violation of free will could not notice that people actually want to the freedom but no one really wants to fight for it. Citizens think that it is effortless to live in peace everyday and feel free to do whatever they want. They want a safe life when they completely ignore the militias who stay up late everyday risking their lives for ensuring citizens stay safe. In addition, the army does check-ups on the appliers to make sure they are fit enough to enter the army, and in case they are not fit enough they are refused. When it comes to the learning process, military services take by maximum three years of service, thus, people could have the chance before and after they are done with their education. Last but not least, as the soldiers enter the army and the time goes by, nationalism is built within them so they become more loyal than others, this will make them perform their best in order to fight for their country and for the safety of other people.
To conclude, military service should be mandatory for all citizens starting from 18 years old as it has a lot of advantages on their physical and mental health. Obligation of the military service guarantees improvement of the army, promotes nationalism for the citizens and helps them improve their physical and mental health, and finally allowing women to enter the military service would be a vital step in order to reach a stable country with equal rights for men and women.
Joy Amgad
186954
Should Military Conscription Be Compulsory or Not? 