If you were drafted, would you serve or evade?

[Franzl]

Depends on the circumstances. I got around Germany's conscription in its final years, but I would have served if I hadn't found a way. But the chance of actually serving in combat would have been 0.

[Franzl]

I will be conscripted when I'm 18; though that's just Austria, so basically doing nothing but push-ups and sitting in the military camp; but anyway, I hope I'm deemed not fit enough or whatever for the military, and if yes; I will choose the option of civilian service instead of military service for six months...

What are those six months really like? What do you spend your time doing? Is their a real chance of being deployed? In my naïveté, I've always assumed that it's more like an extended, more disciplined stay at camp. I can't imagine a modern military training soldiers and putting them into action within so short a period.

I think it's like it was in Germany until it was abolished a few years ago. There's zero chance of being deployed anywhere. It's just basic training. (In other words, a waste of time for almost everyone involved.)