The Student Room Group

Is there a possibility of conscription/draft in the modern day?

Hypothetically if the US went to war with Iran and the UK was somehow part of it; if more men were needed would there be conscription?

Do you think compulsory conscription in the UK could ever happen in the world today?
Original post by Cass911
Hypothetically if the US went to war with Iran and the UK was somehow part of it; if more men were needed would there be conscription?

Do you think compulsory conscription in the UK could ever happen in the world today?

I doubt it - unskilled bodies on the ground aren't much use in a remote conflict.
Unlikely, the British army tends to pride skill and good training over numbers. Not much use having a massive army when everyone in it is basically a civilian still.
It is worth noting that now that women can serve in every infantry role were there a hypothetical draft I doubt it would target men only
I think the modern battlefield got too complex to make conscription soldiers worth anything, and that UKs leaders are not stupid enough to run conscription anyway.

Ad-hoc infantry is now good only against other ad-hoc infantry, militias, and small groups of mercenaries who don't get full scale support from a true army.
Some good points from the posters above. It's also worth noting that the UK couldn't afford conscription. Even if there was to be a conflict with Iran that the UK got pulled into then it'd primarily be a air and naval campaign.
Original post by Cass911
Hypothetically if the US went to war with Iran and the UK was somehow part of it; if more men were needed would there be conscription?

Do you think compulsory conscription in the UK could ever happen in the world today?

Nope. It wouldnt be a land war.
They already have territorials.
UK isnt that interested in Iran. The beef is mostly US v Iran. Might change ofc if British lives are lost.
Possible but not likely.
Reply 7
Theoretically possible, but extraordinarily unlikely.

It would need to be an industrial war on the scale of WW1/2 to warrant the reintroduction of conscription. It's not going to happen.
Reply 8
Very unlikely, it is clearly shown that soldiers who sign up on their own will fight better than someone who is forced into fighting, one takes his job seriously while the other does not. Take the Falklands War for example, the British Army was smaller than the Argentinean Army mainly made of conscripts but we still won the war.
Reply 9
Sounds like a jolly good way to never get reelected to office...
For even smaller wars like Vietnam, they had military draft/conscription for Americans did they not?
Original post by Drewski
Theoretically possible, but extraordinarily unlikely.

It would need to be an industrial war on the scale of WW1/2 to warrant the reintroduction of conscription. It's not going to happen.
Original post by Cass911
For even smaller wars like Vietnam, they had military draft/conscription for Americans did they not?

Yes, but that's the Americans.

And then they started suffering outrageous casualties because drafted citizens aren't as well trained.

Afghanistan ended up being a bigger conflict for the Americans - they didn't reintroduce the draft.
Very good point.
Original post by Drewski
Yes, but that's the Americans.

And then they started suffering outrageous casualties because drafted citizens aren't as well trained.

Afghanistan ended up being a bigger conflict for the Americans - they didn't reintroduce the draft.
Frankly i'd be more expecting forced labour than conscription.

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