Conscription

Some countries require by law that their citizens serve a term in their armed forces. This process is generally known as conscription, mandatory military service, or colloquially in the U.S. as "the draft". Except in wartime, the United States (and many other nations) have a strictly volunteer, or professional, military force, rather than relying on conscription.

In the United Kingdom, Australia and elsewhere the term conscription is generally used only during wartime. National Service was the term used in peace-time. A shortage of miners during war-time saw also men conscripted as mine workers - the "Bevin Boys". During World War II, Japanese women and children were conscripted to work in factories.

The term "conscription" refers only to the mandatory service, thus those undergoing conscription are known as "conscripts" or "selectee" in the United States (from the Selective Service System or the Selective Service Initiative announced in 2004).

"Enlisted" personnel are members of the armed forces who are not commissioned officers. The term is often used to refer only to those who have volunteered for service.

History

Conscription allowed the French Republic to form the Grande Armee, what Napoleon Bonaparte called "the nation in arms", which successfully battled European professional armies.

Conscription, particularly when the conscripts are being sent to foreign wars that do not directly affect the security of the nation, has historically been highly politically contentious in democracies. For instance, during World War I, bitter political disputes broke out in Canada (see Conscription Crisis of 1917), Newfoundland, Australia and New Zealand over conscription. Canada also had a political dispute over conscription during World War II (see Conscription Crisis of 1944). Similarly, mass protests against conscription to fight the Vietnam War occurred in several countries in the late 1960s. (See also: Conscription Crisis)

In developed nations, the increasing emphasis on technological firepower and better-trained fighting forces, the sheer unlikelihood of a conventional military assault on most developed nations, as well as memories of the contentiousness of the Vietnam War experience, make mass conscription unlikely in the foreseeable future.

Russia and China, as well as many smaller nations, retain mainly conscript armies.

Women draftees

Most countries only draft men, although some (e.g., Israel) also draft women. Some have considered the practice of excluding women from the draft unfair, because they see it is against equality. During World War II women were drafted into the armed forces of the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. The United States came close to drafting women into the Nurse Corps in preparation for a planned invasion of Japan; the Japanese surrender made this unnecessary.

Conscientious Objectors

A conscientious objector is an individual whose personal beliefs are incompatible with military service, or sometimes with any role in the armed forces. In some countries, conscientious objectors have special legal status which augments their conscription duties. For example, Sweden allows conscientous objectors to choose a service in the "weapons-free" branch, services which will prove useful during an invasion, such as an airport fireman, nurse or telecommunications technician. The reasons for refusing to serve are varied. Many conscientious objectors are so for religious reasons -- notably, the Quakers are pacifist by doctrine, and Jehovah's Witnesses, while not strictly speaking pacifists, refuse to participate in the armed services on the grounds that they believe Christians should be neutral in worldly conflicts (also see Conscientious objection).

Draft evaders

Not everyone who was conscripted was willing to give up their lives figuratively (and often literally) in the service of their country. Many young people used their family's political connections to ensure that they were placed well away from any potential harm. They would avoid military service altogether through college deferments. Others with political influence often joined the military and served in what was termed a Champagne unit. Others used educational exemptions, or became conscientious objectors. For others, the commonest method of avoiding the draft was to cross the border into another country. People who have been "called up" for military service and who attempted to avoid it in some way, were known as "draft-dodgers". American draft-dodgers made their way to Canada or Mexico. Australian draft-dodgers had greater difficulty leaving their country due to the surrounding ocean, but "going bush" worked just as well in the short term for many of them.

Many people looked upon draft-dodgers with scorn as being "cowards", but some supported them in their efforts.

Draft resisters

The Vietnam War saw new levels of opposition to conscription and National Service. Many people opposed to and facing conscription, chose to either plead conscientious objection or to evade the draft by fleeing to a neutral country. A small proportion, like Muhammad Ali, chose to publically and politically fight conscription. In Australia this was known as the Draft Resistance Movement.

Countries with mandatory military service

A number of countries have mandatory military service:

Austria

In Austria, compulsory military service applies to all male citizens from 18 to 36 years of age (with some exceptions), in which the basic military service must be done. The duration of the basic military service is eight months. This can either be done in one go, or as a service of six months with regular weapon exercises of several days as member of the Miliz until the duration of eight months is reached.

Although women have in principle no military service, they can undertake military service voluntarily.

Military alternative service or civil service is possible in place of the compulsory military service. Its duration is 12 months and can be performed at different organizations.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria has a mandatory military service for male citizens from 18 to 27 years of age. Currently (2004) the duration of the service depends on the degree of education. For citizens with bachelor degree or higher the service is 6 months, and for citizens with no higher education it is 9 months. The last 10 years the duration of service rapidly dropped (being 2 years in 1994) and as Bulgaria adopts professional army the mandatory service is expected to be abandoned or replaced with voluntary service.

China (PRC)

The People's Republic of China (technically) has conscription for both men and women. Women who are conscripted go to the army for two months and learn to fire guns. Information updated: as of 2003 with some information not updated since 1990s, unofficial source.

Croatia

Croatian law prescribes military service for male citizens from 18 to 27 years old. The duration of the normal military service is six months (as of 2004) while the conscientious objectors can apply for civil service which lasts for eight months. Conscription is regularly postponed for students until the end of their studies, as long as they apply before they turn 28 years of age.

Over the last decade or so, the duration of military service was halved and the civil service was introduced together with the streamlining of the professional army. Should this trend continue, the mandatory service may eventually be completely replaced with voluntary service.

Eritrea

Eritrea has a mandatory military service program for both men and women aged 18 through 40. The term of service is 18 months. There is no alternate service. The Eritrean government is well-known for hunting down and torturing suspected draft evaders.

Finland

As of 2004, Finland has mandatory military service for men of at least six months, depending on the assigned position: those trained as officers serve for twelve months, specialty troops serve for nine months, and other rank and file serve for six months. Women can serve, if they choose. Civilian service of 13 months is available in lieu of military service. Men who opt for neither are sent to open prison where they may work and study for a period of six months.

Germany

Germany has a mandatory military service of nine months for men. Women may volunteer and are allowed to perform the same jobs as men. A conscientious objector may write a petition requesting permission to do a civilian "substitute service" ("Ersatzdienst"), which is usually accepted, whereupon he is expected to serve 10 months. Overall, however, during the past few years, the number of men being drafted has declined significantly.

Save for a few exceptions, military service is compulsory for all men between the ages of 18 and 23 years. Those who are engaged in educational or vocational training programs prior to their military assessment are allowed to postpone service until they have completed the programs and can be called upon to perform this national duty at any time thereafter.

German law provides several options for conscientious objectors to perform alternative public service instead of a weapons-based military service:

1. The main alternative is the aforementioned "substitute service" ("Ersatzdienst") lasting for 10 months, in which the objector is required to serve in non-combatant, state-run institutions such as the Technical Aid Corps ("Technisches Hilfswerk" or "THW"), Fire Department or other emergency assistance and crisis management agencies. While performing this service, the objector continues to fall within the purview of the German Federal Defense Force ("Deutsche Bundeswehr"). As such, he is termed a "combat" objector, or someone who refuses to handle a weapon, but may be otherwise deployed in times of war, if necessary.

2. The foregoing makes "Ersatzdienst" unacceptable for some conscientious objectors, who are completely opposed to being associated in any way with the military, and wish to be viewed as unavailable to the "Bundeswehr" under any circumstances—even in times of war. For such cases, the law provides "civilian service" ("Zivildienst") as an alternative. Under this arrangement, the objector may find employment with a civilian institution that renders a public service, such as a hospital, rehabilitation center or assisted living facility for the aged. This service must be performed for 12 months. Of course, this arrangement has resulted in several controversial cases, in which the objector was unable to find employment that qualified as "Zivildienst" under the statute, and preferred to accept imprisonment rather that be enrolled in the military's "Ersatzdienst" option. Such a sentence may last for at least three years, though this maximum term is very uncommon.

3. The third alternative permitted by German law is for the objector to become a foreign "development helper" ("Entwicklungshelfer"), which means that the person will be expected to work in a technical capacity in a recognized "developing country" for a period of not less than 18 months. To qualify for this option, the objector would have had to complete formal vocational training or an educational program that grants a recognized qualification in a marketable skill making the objector a useful asset in a developing host country. The objector is responsible for personally making all of the arrangements in order to engage in this alternative service. Many objectors who chose this option, become so engrossed in the developmental needs of such countries, that they stay abroad many years longer than the legal requirement. The disproportionately high percentage of German nationals found in many international aid, conservation, medical and technical assistance organizations active in developing countries may be directly attributable to this trend.

Another provision allows the third son of a family to be completely exonerated from military service, if his older brothers participated. Of course, voluntary enrolment is always possible.

The ongoing political debate over whether the German Federal Defense Force should be converted into a purely volunteer-based, professional army raises questions about the military draft policy. Since the current process selects ever-decreasing numbers of men from each succeeding generation, conflicting views abound regarding the effect of the selection, both in terms of the overall quality of the force and the general fairness of the system.

The final decision will most likely be informed by the enhanced or even reduced roles that such a new "army" would be expected to play in German society in the years to come.

Greece

As of 2004, Greece (Hellenic Republic) has a mandatory military service of 12 months for men. However, it is developing a professional army system, and it is widely expected that the mandatory military service will be cut to 6 months by 2008 or even abolished completely. Greek soldiers fire a gun during the first two months of their service. Although women are accepted in the Greek army, they are not obliged to join as men are. Soldiers have some free health insurance and medical support during their army service, including hospitalization costs. They receive a salary of approximately 9 euros per month.

Hungary

Hungary has mandatory military service written out in its constitution. The country is currently developing a professional army, and thus conscription time has been steadily decreasing from 2 years in 1990 to six months in 2002. The current government has stopped enrolling in the summer of 2004. The hungarian constitution is being changed regarding the draft as of late 2004. The right-wing parlamentary opposition is still fighting to stop the constitutional changes, as they want the goverment to have power to restore the draft without 2/3rd vote of the Parliament. The liberal-socialist majority remains adamant to remove the draft from codes, because their 2006 re-election hinges on young citizens' votes.

Israel

Israel has mandatory military service for both men and women who hold Israeli citizenship. It is the only country which currently practices female conscription. There are growing numbers of refuseniks who resist military service, particularly in the Occupied Territories and are serving prison terms as a result. Most people serve for a term of 3 years. See also: Refusal to serve in the Israeli military

Lebanon

Lebanon has a mandatory military service of one year for men. Information updated: as of 2004. See Official Information from Lebanese Army.

Malaysia

As of 2004, Malaysia has a mandatory national service of three months for a selected group of both men and women. 20% of 18-year-olds are selected through a lottery system to join this program. Trainees will not be trained using firearms. The first training date is Feb 16, 2004. See Official Information from Malaysia National Service Training Department.

Norway

Norway has mandatory military service for men (women can volunteer) of 6, 9 or 12 months. Pacifists can apply for alternative service.

Poland

Poland has a compulsory service term of 12 months for all mature men. However, many of those are considered unfit for mandatory military service during peace time. Effectively, only a few thousand men are drafted each autumn. Alternative service can be requested, e.g. in the police force.

Russia

As of 2002, Russia (Russian Federation) has a mandatory two-year draft but most Russians avoid it. See Only 11 percent of Russian men enter mandatory military service.

Singapore

Singapore, which currently has a mandatory service period of between 22 to 24 months, used to have one of the longest mandatory military service for males, at two and a half years. It also has special policies for ethnic Malays, because of possible conflicts in allegiances with neighbour Malaysia. Some of the Malays drafted to the Police or Civil Defense.

South Korea

As of 2002, South Korea has a mandatory military service of 26 months. See: [1].

Sweden

In Sweden military service is mandatory for men only. As of 2002, Sweden's government asked the army to consider mandatory army service for women. Less than a third of the Scandinavian country's eligible 19-year-olds are actually drafted each year. See Sweden considers mandatory military service for women.

Switzerland

Switzerland has the largest militia army in the world (200 000 including reserves). Military service for Swiss men is obligatory according to the Federal Constitution, and includes 17 weeks of basic training as well as annual 3-week-refresher courses until a number of service days which increases with rank (300 days for privates) is reached. Service for women is voluntary, but identical in all respects. Conscientous objectors can choose 450 days of community service instead of military service. Medical deferments and dismissals from basic training (often on somewhat dubious grounds) have increased significantly in the last years. Therefore, only about 33% of Swiss men actually complete basic training.

Taiwan (ROC)

As of 2004, The Republic of China has implemented mandatory military service for all males since 1949. Females in the outlying islands of Fujian must also serve. Beginning January 2004, the mandatory service has been shortened by two months. See Information from www.taipei.org.

Turkey

In Turkey, compulsory military service applies to all male citizens from 20 to 41 years of age (with some exceptions). Those who are engaged in higher-education or vocational training programs prior to their military drafting are allowed to delay service until they have completed the programs. The duration of the basic military service varies. As of July 2003, the reduced durations are as follows: 15 months for privates (previously 18 months), 12 months for reserve officers (previously 16 months) and 6 months for short-term privates, which denotes those who have earned a university degree and not have been enlisted as reserve officers (previously 8 months).

For Turkish citizens who have lived or worked abroad of Turkey for at least three years, on condition that they pay a certain fee in foreign currencies, a basic military training of one month is offered instead of the full-term military service. Also, when the General Staff assesses that the military reserve exceeds the required amount, paid military service of one-month basic training is established.

Although women have in principle no military service, they are allowed to become officers.

Refusing the obligatory military service due to conscientious objection is illegal in Turkey, and punishable with imprisonment by law.

Countries that do not currently have mandatory military service

Australia

See History of Australian Conscription

Canada

See main articles Conscription Crisis of 1917 and Conscription Crisis of 1944

In Canada conscription has never taken place in peacetime. Conscription became an extremely controversial issue during both World War I and World War II, especially in the province of Quebec.

France

France was one of the first nations to employ conscription. During the wars following the French Revolution the army needed men to stop invasions Austrian and British invasions. France abolished peacetime military conscription in 2001.

Iraq

Saddam Hussein's large army was largely conscripts except for the elite Republican Guard. His refusal to withdraw from Kuwait during the 1st Gulf War, resulted an estimated 100,000 innocent conscript deaths in the bunkers during the United Nations attack.

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire introduced a law in 1873 regarding mandatory military service. The first draft took place in 1874. See: Military service in Russia Empire.

Slovenia

Slovenia's Prime Minister Anton Rop abolished mandatory military service on September 9 2003. Read the Official Press Release.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom had conscription during both world wars. After the World War II, it introduced National Service, which was abolished in 1960.

United States

The United States has employed conscription intermittently. For example, in 1863, the imposition of a draft during the Civil War touched off the New York Draft Riots. Conscription was next used after the United States entered World War I in 1917. The first instance of conscription when the country was not at war came with the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. Conscription ended in 1973. Currently, male U.S. citizens and many male aliens living in the U.S., if age 18 through 25, are required to register with the Selective Service System, which describes its mission as "preparing to manage a draft if and when Congress and the President so direct." [2]

The World War I draft was upheld by the Supreme Court against the challenge that it was "involuntary servitude" in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment. Arver v. United States, 245 U.S. 366 (1918) ([3]). A lower appellate court came to the same conclusion during the Vietnam War. United States v. Holmes, 387 F.2d 781 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 391 U.S. 936 (1968) ([4]). The Supreme Court has also upheld the constitutionality of the exclusion of women from the registration requirement. Rostker v. Goldberg, 453 U.S. 57 (1981) ([5]).

Perception of the Draft as Unfair

Some people feel that the draft is unfair because only males are required to register with the Selective Service, and it's only males that could potentially be drafted. The draft has been perceived by some as unfairly targeting the poor and lower middle classes. Because of college deferments, children of wealthy and upper middle class families that could afford to send them to college could avoid the draft. The fact that President Clinton had avoided military service through the use of a deferment caused controversy during his campaigns and during his time in office.

Some children of wealthy families wished to avoid a perception of avoiding military service. Those individuals would often sign up for the National Guard. The fact that some were able to use their family's connections to gain a position when spots in the guard were limited also led to a perception that the wealthy were using the National Guard to ensure that their children were assigned low risk duty in the states. This is an issue that has affected President George W. Bush - some of his critics contend that his family influence gained him a spot in what was called the Champagne unit of the Texas National Guard rather than being drafted.

Also, the draft system itself in the United States was not entirely a fair and impartial system. There have been cases where local draft boards misused their authority in the past.

While the government had instituted reforms to deal with what were perceived to be the worst abuses, some people feel that more can still be done. Others feel that any military draft is inherently unfair because only a small percentage of eligible draftees are needed at only one time. One leading opponent of military draft restoration, State Rep. Mark B. Cohen of Philadelphia, said "The draft hurts military efficiency by substituting well motivated volunteers for unmotivated draftees, undermines military pay and benefits by removing the need to attract volunteers, and creates anxiety and unrest among tens of millions of people who will never serve. It is a dangerous psuedo-solution to a non-existent problem."

The provisions for conscientious objection to the draft have also been viewed as unfairly descriminatory, favoring religious objection over non-religious objection, and favoring those who value peace and non-violence over those who value freedom. Alternative mandatory service can assuage objections based on peace and non-violence, but do nothing for those who objections arise from strongly held convictions about freedom. Many who object to the draft find it directly conflicts with the liberty clause they committed themselves to in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Selective Service Reforms

The Selective Service System has maintained that they have implemented a number of reforms that would make the draft more fair and equitable.

Some of the measures they have implemented include:

Before Vietnam a young man could get a deferment by showing that he was a full time student making satisfactory progress towards a degree. Now if called a man could normally only defer induction to the end of the semester. If the man is a senior he can defer until the end of the academic year.
The government has said that draft boards are now more representative of the local communities in areas such as race and national origin.
A lottery system would be used to determine the order of people being called up. Previously the oldest men who were found eligible for the draft would be taken first. In the new system, the men called first would be those who are or will turn 20 in the calendar year or those whose deferments will end in the calendar year. Each year after the man will be placed on a lower priority status until his liability ends.

However, as there has been no draft since the end of the Vietnam War, it remains to be seen how any future drafts would be conducted.

Arguments for and against conscription

The Draft As Slavery

"Conscription subjects individual personalities to militarism. It is a form of servitude. That nations routinely tolerate it, is just one more proof of its debilitating influence" by Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, H.G. Wells, Bertrand Russell and Thomas Mann in Against Conscription and the Military Training of Youth--1930

Some groups such as the Libertarians say that the draft constitutes slavery, since it is mandatory work. Under the 13th Amendment of the Constitution, slavery or indentured servitude is not allowed unless it's part of punishment for a crime. They therefore see the draft as unconstitutional (at least in the U.S.) and immoral. As this opinion has not been decided one way or the other by the courts the draft remains an option for the US government for the future.

The Draft As Nationalism

The military draft is predicated on the assumption that nations have rights that supercede those of the individual, Einstein and Gandhi put it this way "The State which thinks itself entitled to force its citizens to go to war will never pay proper regard to the value and happiness of their lives in peace." in the Anti-Conscription Manifesto. The building of large conscript armies coincided with the rise of virulent nationalism in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Draft As A Weapon of Mass Destruction

The large militaries enabled by conscription are responsible for far more casualties than all the traditional weapons of mass destruction combined.

The Draft As Terrorism And Torture

Conscription can be viewed as a form of terrorism under this definition "a military use of force upon a civilian population with the intent of influencing that population's support for the government". In most modern armies, the conscripts are detained in camps, subjected to food and sleep deprivation[6], subjected to verbal and physical abuse, conditioned to follow orders and desensitized to killing. For these and other reasons conscription has been viewed as an immoral means that should be prohibited under just war doctrine.

The Draft As Providing Justification For Terrorism

If a nation views its civilians as military assets subject to the draft, its opponents might also view those civilians as legitimate military targets.

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