Finn here. The willingness to defend the country is high in Finland. For a small country like Finland it’s the most cost-effective way to keep up a credible defense. I guess a professional army might be an option now with NATO membership.
And, yes. It feels like the normal thing to do.
My grandfathers did it (and fought in two wars), my father did it, my older brother did it, plenty of friends did it at the same time as me.
It’s an experience you can bond over very quickly.
Theres definatly SOME good to it. Hell, maybe that will help reduce the crime rate too*. From what ive heard, you are forced to learn a skill, so more skilled workers.
*Just came back from holiday. First taxi from the airport has dents in the doors from kids throwing rocks. Depressing here
Probably. Pretty much anyone who wants to go career can.
It’s 5-6 months for the shortest service. In my case I volunteered to drive big rigs, so 12 months and I got a driver’s license that would’ve required two years of lorry driving as a civilian. It’s been my backup plan in case my career in rocket science hadn’t worked out.
I think there’s value to mandatory military service when your aims are primarily defensive. Country gets invaded and not only are there lots of people in the army already, but also there’s plenty of reserves who just need refresher training. When you’re the one getting invaded, you usually don’t have problems with motivation unless the current regime has really fucked up.
When you try to use a largely conscripted army for invasions, like Russia is doing, people start to wonder why the hell they’re doing this.
Conversely, when your country is known for military adventurism like the United States, it’s easier to motivate volunteers. They signed up for this, and as fucked up as it is, they almost want to be sent off to war in some far off land. England also has generally used a volunteer military throughout its imperialist history. Giving your citizens the choice works better if you’re going to be doing imperialism.
Finn here. The willingness to defend the country is high in Finland. For a small country like Finland it’s the most cost-effective way to keep up a credible defense. I guess a professional army might be an option now with NATO membership.
And, yes. It feels like the normal thing to do.
My grandfathers did it (and fought in two wars), my father did it, my older brother did it, plenty of friends did it at the same time as me.
It’s an experience you can bond over very quickly.
Theres definatly SOME good to it. Hell, maybe that will help reduce the crime rate too*. From what ive heard, you are forced to learn a skill, so more skilled workers.
*Just came back from holiday. First taxi from the airport has dents in the doors from kids throwing rocks. Depressing here
Probably. Pretty much anyone who wants to go career can.
It’s 5-6 months for the shortest service. In my case I volunteered to drive big rigs, so 12 months and I got a driver’s license that would’ve required two years of lorry driving as a civilian. It’s been my backup plan in case my career in rocket science hadn’t worked out.
I think there’s value to mandatory military service when your aims are primarily defensive. Country gets invaded and not only are there lots of people in the army already, but also there’s plenty of reserves who just need refresher training. When you’re the one getting invaded, you usually don’t have problems with motivation unless the current regime has really fucked up.
When you try to use a largely conscripted army for invasions, like Russia is doing, people start to wonder why the hell they’re doing this.
Conversely, when your country is known for military adventurism like the United States, it’s easier to motivate volunteers. They signed up for this, and as fucked up as it is, they almost want to be sent off to war in some far off land. England also has generally used a volunteer military throughout its imperialist history. Giving your citizens the choice works better if you’re going to be doing imperialism.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.