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Military Service in the US vs Switzerland

Lafayette

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Lafayette said:
Every adult is a member of the Armed Forces in Switzerland, so yes those in the Army all have arms for which they are solely responsible. Of course, if desired, they can be kept by the Swiss Army as well.
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Every adult male must do military service (for ten years after inscription at the age of 18) - but females are not obliged to do so. They can and do enlist as well, however.

Frankly, I think that is a damn good idea for the US as well. That military service just might put some sense into their dormant-heads - rather than the rotgut that plays with them nowadays.

Also, off the Net:

What country has the most youth crime?

Crime > Murders committed by youths: Countries Compared
#COUNTRYAMOUNT
1Brazil20,386
2Colombia12,834
3United States8,226
4Russia7,885
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It's no wonder Russia wants to seen them off to the Ukraine. I'll bet Putin started his assinine war with that very much in his mind .... !
 
I’d be in favor of mandatory college, trade school, or military service to minimize the number of people who do nothing with their life but menace society and collect benefits.
 
Right now, we are spending $752.9 billion keeping about 1% of our country under arms.

We should raise that to $7.529 trillion because you think we need a social program?
 
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So...how are we going to pay for every eligible young adult to serve? They do get paid while enlisted, you know.
 
The concept of Universal Service isn't a good substitute for a long service professional Military. If you see film on the annual training in the Swiss Infantry you see exhausted, overweight men struggle with simple tests. Perhaps the best defense Switzerland has is holding everyone's ill-gotten gains...

We had a conscript army before. It had a hit or miss record. Forcing Americans to serve in a structured environment isn't winning recipe. These days after the questionable conflicts we have engaged in isn't the best back round to start forcing citizens into service.

Our society is vastly different, much more diverse, very aggressive and engaging in armed conflict with amazing frequency.

Hard to compare the Swiss with us...
 
Horrible idea. The draft, forced service, or any kind of conscription are an affront to individual liberty and person freedom.
 
I think one year of public service is a great idea. It's an education you can't get in school
 
Why does Frenchie here keep telling us in the US what to do? Doesn't he have his own country to bug?
 
Nomad4Ever said:
Horrible idea. The draft, forced service, or any kind of conscription are an affront to individual liberty and person freedom.
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It is different for small countries (like Switzerland). Finland has it still, Sweden had it until early 90th. I think it was a mistake to take it away


It is quite good to be honest. Every male train for about 1-2 years after high school. After that it was a week every 5th year or so. Those who continued education immediately after high school was exempted until the studies was finished. Some people wasn't (for different reason, could be conchies.) able to be placed and was then assigned different tasks as healthcare or mechanist in case of war. Some was considered not fit for military services and got a free card. Some occupations meant that you did not have to do military service (as for example sea captain) This means that every male got assessed for military service, trained and got a position , so in the event of war everyone was somewhat trained and knew what they were supposed to do.

Beside that it had many positive effects, and a lot could use contacts and/or skills they acquired in civil life.

But I agree that for the US, it is "overcourse".
 
I understand that military service is different in other countries, but I fundamentally am against the state forcing people into any occupation and especially military service. No human should be forced into the service of any nation. Life is short and you owe none of it to a country.
 
As if americans are not sheeple enough you now want to train your youth to be obedient cannon fodder.

The land of the free. What a joke.
 
IN EUROPE POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION IS FUNDED BY THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS

Napoleon said:
I’d be in favor of mandatory college, trade school, or military service to minimize the number of people who do nothing with their life but menace society and collect benefits.
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We do all three in Europe. From here: Tuition Fees at Universities in Europe in 2022

Because if a country does not, then the solution is inadequate. People wallow in poverty all their lives living off whatever they can get from the city/town, the state or the national government. That is no way to go through life.

Europe found the right way a long time ago. It allows a decent post-secondary education to find a good job at a very low cost. A university degree in a public post-secondary school rarely costs more than 2/3K euros a year.

Adequate education is key to sufficient prosperity in a modern country today. Manufacturing has fled out of both the US and the European Union. It counts today for less than 10% of all jobs in both Europe and the US.

What's left are up-market jobs that require training/education to have the sufficient talents necessary that state-schools can assure in Europe. In Europe governments remain the primary funding source for higher education institutions. I sent my kids to university (tuition fees uniquely) here in France for 1.5K Euros a year (about the same sum in dollars).

Do show me where states in the US support post-secondary university education for the same amount*! We can't do that in the US? Of course we can, rather than wasting BigMoney on the DoD! We just don't want to do it. And for what? To get our children killed in some foreign war? Ya gotta be crayzee ... !

*All three levels of post-secondary education in Europe include universities and colleges, as well as trade and vocational schools. Postsecondary education usually culminates with a diploma, certification or academic degree. It's management is decentralized from regulation by the national government and it is essentially independent from it. But all funding is nonetheless governmental in nature. (Oh yes, there are private post-secondary establishments but they are mostly for the rich and super-rich.)
 
PirateMk1 said:
Why does Frenchie here keep telling us in the US what to do? Doesn't he have his own country to bug?
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Because, unlike you, French knows both sides of the coin - the US and Europe.

And Europe is far more advanced in key elements such as post-secondary education and nationalized healthcare. For instance, as regards healthcare, my lifespan in France is three-years longer than yours in the US ... !
 
Yea no. Dont need or want your "help". You be you in Europe. We will send our wannabe Euro snobs to you. You keep your aristocratic BS to yourselves thankyou very much.
 
Luce said:
Right now, we are spending $752.9 billion keeping about 1% of our country under arms.

We should raise that to $7.529 trillion because you think we need a social program?
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Cockamamey response? Like most Americans, you don't know the facts and when I show them here you get all bent out of shape.

The two key components to any lifestyle are Healthcare and Education. If those components are not very low-cost, then people spend their lives living at mediocre income levels doing only basic jobs that pay about the minimal level of compensation.

From which they tend to die earlier than others! Those facts have been supported by numerous investigations of the matter and they all arrive at the same conclusion. Without decent Healthcare and a good post-secondary degree or training, one is destined for a highly mediocre job ...
 
Luce said:
Right now, we are spending $752.9 billion keeping about 1% of our country under arms.

We should raise that to $7.529 trillion because you think we need a social program?
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Well we don’t need to pay high salaries or enlistment bonuses if conscription is mandatory
 
I don't support mandatory military service. Getting rid of the draft was a good decision, IMO.
 
Which there is nothing wrong with. Most people are highly mediocre and we have far more demand for low end labor then high end labor, and most high end labor is make work for mediocre college graduates anyway. Like the recent viral tweet from some woman who showed videos of her day working for LinkedIn and other then going to one meeting she literally didn’t do any work
 
RetiredUSN said:
Really? You're going to let a good "nuke" or conventional engineer just walk away?

Right!
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It is not likely those are the type of people that would be constricted.
 
Lafayette said:
Cockamamey response? Like most Americans, you don't know the facts and when I show them here you get all bent out of shape.
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UNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG
 
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