Mandatory Military Service - Essay Example

The researcher states that then thought of every able bodied person serving in the military elicits mixed reaction in different societies and other quarters, where some are for while others are against it. Engaging in military service for able bodied raises debates world over, which makes it crucial to assess the options between service or lack of it, whether mandatory service is more beneficial as compared to lack thereof. Mandatory military service should be recommended for every nation and state for different reasons that are only for the benefit of its people and the enlisting individuals, as a whole.

One of the main reasons is that taking part in military service is an act of loyalty, and the right thing to do for everyone as a citizen. This is a duty in which every citizen should participate rather than wait for other members of the society to step forward risking their lives to protect those of others. This service ensures ignorance is eliminated from all members of society, as they all know their responsibilities and what the military goes through. This is before they get to criticize the works of the military prior to understanding the implications of handling conflict, both armed and unarmed.

In such cases, responsibilities of protecting the nation should be shouldered by all able bodied persons as without the mandatory system, the entire military would be a professional one. This is where the cost becomes overwhelming since the military wants to retain as many personnel as possible, which is not the case with mandatory service. Mandatory service ensures that the military is always ready with personnel and trains reserves since those that leave the military become reservists. These reservists are equipped with skills that benefit all members of the society regardless of conflicts as the same skills can be applied in life situations.

Moreover, mandatory military service for every able bodied citizen is crucial to creating a patriotic nation and instilling a sense of nationhood amongst the people (Imran). Serving in the military serves as an opportunity to inculcate a sense of pride in serving their country thus allowing them to fight for it and guard it under all circumstances. Although there are many other options from which one can choose to instill patriotism, mandatory military service instills pride and should, therefore, be practiced.

It is also one of the ways through which one can serve his or her country; before going into the world to serve one’s own needs and interests. As such, it creates a sense of identity with the men and women fighting for the country by connecting with them. This connection is because the citizens know what it takes to be in the military, and how patriotic it is of them to serve in it. Serving in the military, therefore, should be enforced for every able bodied person for a defined period in which one evaluates his or her loyalties.

However, mandatory military service should not be practiced for clearly visible reasons that decapitate the values of the society, any society that is. This is provided the society in question follows a democratic view that should allow its people to make their own choices by joining the military. Furthermore, it ruins the social system by having the military leaders and other leaders with the power to influence the military have their own way. Hence, mandatory military service ensures that there are no reforms in the military, a heavy consequence for the people and the nation as a whole.

This is because this service leaves people who are exempt from the service as lesser members of the society as compared to those who are enlisted. Therefore, they are discriminated against and used to achieve the means of recruiting and assigning officers (Connolly). Those that do not enlist in the military are required to serve mandatory community service that involves the providing cheap labor for other members of the society, as is the case of Germany. It is for this reason that every able bodied