Should we bring back compulsory national service?

I disagree with compulsory national service, because while I do think that it is good for building discipline and "social cohesion" the three years I spend there will never be gained back. I'd rather use those three years to gain other experiences and I assume other people would rather use those three years to focus on their careers so that they are perhaps well established a lot earlier rather than later.

What if it was 18 months?

Also, do you not think you could benefit from the various qualifications that are offered by the army?

People can get paid an extra four figure sum on top of their salary for having a first aid certificate for example, all offices need a designated first aider on duty and many workplaces will pay say an extra £1500 a year to the first aid people who mostly just have to dish out a plaster now and again.

Also, if national service was a thing then anybody who didn't do it would overlooked when things like "team building" and "organisational skills" are a requirement, those things are taught in the army.

And surely the biggest benefit is giving people confidence to communicate. I think that is the biggest benefit to this latest generation. They bloody date on whatsapp and can't hold a conversation....

.... 18 months of being in fields having to talk to each other without a mobile phone in sight? It would be a revelation.

Yes, I would do it. For this time period (18 months) the pros outweigh the cons in my opinion.

I worry about the crisis of masculinity, and the general snowflakeness of a lot of youngsters these days.

Also, youth unemployment is a problem.

Should all young people complete three years of compulsory national service?

They would be able to do this national service between the age of 18 and 25 and it would be for three years in total.

People who refuse to serve would be sent to borstal like the old days. Employers would probably look down on them for not doing the service, in fact it would probably be as important as a degree.

This way people can either do a three year uni course and three years national service, with a gap year in between. If they wish to study to degree level also.

Or they could do a four year course / three years with placement, with three year national service.

And they could either do their degree and then do the service, or do the service and then do the degree.

Or they could just do vocational qualifications whilst in the army for those three years, and come out as qualified engineers, plumbers, carpenters etc.

Obviously there is no real war to send them all to at the moment, but they could learn some great skills doing invaluable things like building flood defences to protect our coastline, could be "on call" to patrol at times of red alert for national security, deal with flood situations delivering sandbags and rescuing old ladies and cats, a build stuff like wooden bridges for rights of way in the countryside.

They would be paid a basic salary during this three years, it would count as employment and give them a reference. Also, various qualifications could be gained.

The French have recently brought back national service with Macron saying that it would inspire patriotism and social cohesion.

I feel that it would help to bridge class divides, as posh kids and working class kids would be doing the same thing for three years, and also people of all sorts of races and genders together.

A recent YouGov poll found that a majority of British people support bringing back national service, although people aged 18-24 were mostly against. Probably because they are lazy and worry about not having access to their games console or their fifty eight layers of makeup.

So would you be for or against this, and why?

Tell us more about your masculinity crisis.

How would it be helped by three years in Northern Ireland?

What a waste of time that would be for me.
Also if everyone is doing it, everyone is getting the qualifications and nobody is advantaged as a result.

I worry about the crisis of masculinity, and the general snowflakeness of a lot of youngsters these days.

Also, youth unemployment is a problem.

Should all young people complete three years of compulsory national service?

They would be able to do this national service between the age of 18 and 25 and it would be for three years in total.

People who refuse to serve would be sent to borstal like the old days. Employers would probably look down on them for not doing the service, in fact it would probably be as important as a degree.

This way people can either do a three year uni course and three years national service, with a gap year in between. If they wish to study to degree level also.

Or they could do a four year course / three years with placement, with three year national service.

And they could either do their degree and then do the service, or do the service and then do the degree.

Or they could just do vocational qualifications whilst in the army for those three years, and come out as qualified engineers, plumbers, carpenters etc.

Obviously there is no real war to send them all to at the moment, but they could learn some great skills doing invaluable things like building flood defences to protect our coastline, could be "on call" to patrol at times of red alert for national security, deal with flood situations delivering sandbags and rescuing old ladies and cats, a build stuff like wooden bridges for rights of way in the countryside.

They would be paid a basic salary during this three years, it would count as employment and give them a reference. Also, various qualifications could be gained.

The French have recently brought back national service with Macron saying that it would inspire patriotism and social cohesion.

I feel that it would help to bridge class divides, as posh kids and working class kids would be doing the same thing for three years, and also people of all sorts of races and genders together.

A recent YouGov poll found that a majority of British people support bringing back national service, although people aged 18-24 were mostly against. Probably because they are lazy and worry about not having access to their games console or their fifty eight layers of makeup.

So would you be for or against this, and why?

18 year old slackers not in full time education or employment should be forced, other than that NAH.

Maybe something like a 6 week course should be compulsory for eligible teenage guys during their summer holidays after their first year of college so around age 17-18. But anything more would be a waste of time for most.

In 6 weeks most people would definitely learn self-discipline, brotherhood etc.

Make it something like Dofe

Pretty sure the list of civilians qualifications that you can do in the army is pretty much the same length as the list of qualifications you can do outside of the army, only you get financial support if you are in and you don't if you are out.

The British Army has not been deployed to Northern Ireland since they withdrew in 2007

Pretty sure the list of civilians qualifications that you can do in the army is pretty much the same length as the list of qualifications you can do outside of the army, only you get financial support if you are in and you don't if you are out.

They include anything from City and Guilds, The Chartered Management Institute, The Institute of Leadership and Management, and various masters degrees and even PHDs.

So no, people would not all get the same qualifications.

It would take them more than 6 weeks to get up to scratch physically.... yet alone learn how to fire a gun to the required standard and learn battle strategy.

They'd be better off in the army reserves.

What use are kids who did a 6 week summer course going to be if we actually ever get into a major war? That would be the point, wouldn't it, an entire nation trained for combat.

That's what France are doing..... you never know when Putin's going to fancy expanding into Europe.

Very good idea, we have a duty to our country, it would probably shape up some of the chavs and undesirables.

Nationalism/Patriotism needs to be instilled in our citizens and this is a good way to do it, I would prefer though if it was far less time, or something along the lines of an afterschool compulsory activity done on a few days a week with retreats occasionally, people with lower than x gcses have to do x amount of time in various areas they chose, police also should have the power to send youths to borstals.