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What's your opinion on mandatory military service? (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by helloworld55@lemm.ee to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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This question was inspired by a post on lemmy.zip about lowering the minimum age to purchase firearms in the US, and a lot of commeters brought up military service and training as a benchmark to normal civilians, and how if guns would be prevalent, then firearm training should be more common.

For reference, I live in the USA, where the minimum age to join the military is 18, but joining is, for the most part, optional. I also know some friends that have gone through the military, mostly for college benefits, and it has really messed them up. However, I have also met some friends from south korea, where I understand military service is mandatory before starting a more normal career. From what I've heard, military service was treated more as a trade school, because they were never deployed, in comparison to American troops.

I just wanted to know what the broader Lemmy community thought about mandatory military service is, especially from viewpoints outside the US.

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[–] stoy@lemmy.zip 8 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

I was one of the last people in Sweden to muster for conscription, I failed the first (hearing) test and was discharged.

This was just before conscription was ended, and about a decade later we have conscription again in Sweden.

There are two main advantages to universal conscription in my oppinion.

It gives the population unity, it is a unifying experience that you have in common with everyone, this creates a stronger society.
It gives the population a general understanding of guns and military action, this is useful in war as people are already familiar with the basic concepts of firearms handling and military tactics, ok, they won't be as good as professional soldiers, but they understand the concepts and that is a good foundation to build uppon.

[–] Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 6 hours ago

So many people in the US join the military. I don't really see a unifying experience happen over the pond besides PTSD...