Ultrathread I: Thread of the Year - 2014

[Misanthrope]

What are your thoughts on compulsory military service?

 

[Chicken_Hunter]

No need for it in aus.

 

[Misanthrope]

I wasn't necessarily asking for Australia specifically. More your thoughts on it as a concept. Benefits & drawbacks etc. it's in place in South Korea, so I got to hear a lot of contrasting opinions on it while living there.

 

[soc123_au]

I'm a fan in some respects. I think the long term unemployed should do a stint, but I worry that it would lower the standard of our Soldiers. Our Armed Services are full of high quality people because they choose to serve. Some of the people conscripted would be dragged up to higher level which is a positive, but some of the shitbags may corrupt others.

 

[bartman]

One of the best things Whitlam did was to end conscription.

Forcing people to do something they don't want to do will never end well. Unless the thing they're doing is of minimal importance anyway...

 

[Scott Gourley's Lovechild]

I wasn't necessarily asking for Australia specifically. More your thoughts on it as a concept. Benefits & drawbacks etc. it's in place in South Korea, so I got to hear a lot of contrasting opinions on it while living there.

When I worked in England, there were plenty of Russian and German students there who would basically be considered professional students so they could avoid compulsory service. It was done under the guise of studying in England to learn English.

For me, I really think here in Australia there is no need. Take a country like Switzerland which has no standing military, then I can understand their need to require citizens to train. Somewhere like Korea I can understand too, since technically they are still at war with a lunatic nuclear armed opponent.

 

[Twizzle]

Are we that short on defence forces that we need to force them to join up.

We got Chicken Hunter to fight our battles for us.

 

[muzby]

What are your thoughts on compulsory military service?

conscription during wartime - no.

but i am of the strong opinion that a compulsory 1 or 2 year stint in the military for most young guys would help address a lot of society's issues - would help a lot of dickheads to be put in their place.

 

[Bazal]

Agree with Muz. National service works very well in the exact regard in Singapore.

 

[whall15]

As someone in the age group that could be conscripted, no way.

National service is an abysmal idea. All it will do is make criminals out of principled people.

I could not conscionably learn how to kill a human being and f**k going to gaol for refusing to do so.

 

[Bazal]

Oh whall...I appreciate a man of principles but that is totally not what NS is about....

 

[whall15]

Oh whall...I appreciate a man of principles but that is totally not what NS is about....

It's about learning how to kill people so that soldiers may be used as pawns, sent off to die for American imperialism.

 

[Joker's Wild]

I'm a fan in some respects. I think the long term unemployed should do a stint, but I worry that it would lower the standard of our Soldiers. Our Armed Services are full of high quality people because they choose to serve. Some of the people conscripted would be dragged up to higher level which is a positive, but some of the shitbags may corrupt others.

This would be my concern too

Our forces are of very high quality compared to some.

 

[whall15]

The quality of the Australian military is pretty irrelevant when they haven't been required to fight a war in 70 years and will not be required for the foreseeable future.

 

[afinalsin666]

On a national statistical level, yeah conscription would probably be a good idea, get some discipline and training for various roles, open up more of the workforce to jobs, it sounds like a dream.

On a real world level, it's shit. I'd hate it, you'd all hate it, our families would hate it, and our military would suffer from the influx of raw shitties.

The mental health issues alone is enough to kill the idea dead. The mental health sector in this country is already weak as f**k as it is, then pump all 18-25 yo males into that system with depression or some other sort of shit, and it would collapse.

 

[Misanthrope]

One of the best things Whitlam did was to end conscription.

Forcing people to do something they don't want to do will never end well. Unless the thing they're doing is of minimal importance anyway...

I don't want to be taxes, but the man keeps making me. Not cool.

conscription during wartime - no.

but i am of the strong opinion that a compulsory 1 or 2 year stint in the military for most young guys would help address a lot of society's issues - would help a lot of dickheads to be put in their place.

I tend to agree, although it's easy for me to say now that I've passed the age where it usually takes place :lol:

As someone in the age group that could be conscripted, no way.

National service is an abysmal idea. All it will do is make criminals out of principled people.

I could not conscionably learn how to kill a human being and f**k going to gaol for refusing to do so.

I think you're confusing the definition of national service. While it can and often does involve some standard military training, it's main reason is certainly not training people to kill.

Those in South Korea doing their compulsory military service can be enlisted as additional police assistance, soccer players, musicians, medics, communications specialists etc.

Very few are actually forced to serve in a military capacity.

 

[Misanthrope]

Gay marriage. Yea or nay?

 

[Bazal]

Sure, why not?

 

[Dutchy]

Don't care.

 

[whall15]

Yea. There is no legitimate argument against it.