Summary
A UK-based think tank warns that Europe’s increased defense spending and weapon production, spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is undermined by a shortage of military personnel.
European NATO members now allocate over half of their defense budgets to European-made equipment, yet critical troop shortfalls persist due to decades of underinvestment.
Concerns are heightened with Donald Trump’s return to the White House, raising fears of reduced U.S. support for Ukraine.
European leaders, including France’s Emmanuel Macron, emphasize the need for Europe to become less reliant on U.S. security support.
Time to make military service mandatory again.
No, no and hell no.
It is sickening the notion of forcing someone, anyone, into bearing arms. It serves no purpose besides indoctrinating young minds into a set of ideas that serves no other purpose besides an opaque agenda of whatever government is in power.
If/when push comes to shove and europeans find themselves in true risk of being invaded by any foreign figure, there will be willing people to move to take on the task of defending their soil.
It’s a good number of decades europeans haven’t picked up weapons to kill each other. It’s not like Europe forgot how it is done.
Mandatory military service only trains them in the basics so they are ready when the risk becomes reality.
Switzerland has mandatory service. France used to have mandatory service. It never created what your said it creates.
I think you’re making a lot of assumptions.
My country had mandatory military service - let’s call what it was - conscription, up to 2004/06 and it only served to fill the heads of young boys with dung.
Volunteer, professional, well trained, well equiped, armed and prepared effectives are the backbone of what modern armed forces are, not quickly churned out cannon fodder.
In Switzerland, the basic training lasts a year I think? And is meant to teach how the army works and how to use weapons and not just rifles and pistols and knives. Depending on their role they also learn how to use artillery, mortars, how to use maps, how to use vehicles and tanks, how to make calculations and navigate and so much more.
The whole point of this is that when shit hits the fan, any additional training takes a lot less time.
It has to be well implemented and taught well. Maybe in your case it wasn’t and you have a bad experience of it.
Any country that’s serious about training it’s people to be ready for combat in case of a serious invasion will probably do a better job than one that isn’t because they want to be prepared.
In any case, I can understand why you would feel the way you do if it was implemented poorly in your country.
Or make joining the army something desirable
Sure, brainwashing people into accepting to be an instrument of violence directed by a government, in a time of growing fascism, sounds like an amazing idea.
Why not start with kids while we’re at it?
You have a better idea for NATO members and other US allies when Trump decides to break all ties and befriend Russia? If they don’t have enough resources in the military to defend themselves, what are they supposed to do?