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

submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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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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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

What kind of purpose does the military serve over there? Is seeing soldiers doing civilian stuff a common thing?

My perspective has always been that the military works overseas, completely seperate from most Americans daily life

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

The point of military service isn't to fight wars abroad, which americans seem to do a lot, but to train reservists who can later defend the country if needed. It ranges between 6-11 months I think, which wouldn't give you enough time to both train the people and get something done anyway.

Civilian service or whatever is the correct term is in english, isn't soldiers doing civilian stuff, but an alternative path for those who don't want to be in the military. You'd work for some public organization, as a civilian.