If you faced being drafted

[Thunderbird is the word]

Hypothetical for forum community members, if conscription had existed in your country when you were of draft age but everything else was the same including your worldview would you have served if drafted or resisted?

And if the draft did exist (probably only true for Torie and for younger board members only Israelis if there are any here,) how did you react?

For me, in 2007 when I was eighteen I was already adamantly anti-war so I imagine if I was faced with being drafted and sent to Iraq or Afghanistan I probably would have fled to Canada or tried to fake some kind of medical condition. Maybe not the most honorable thing to do but that's my honest thought.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Try to dodge it by exploiting any loophole I can find. If that doesn't work, flee the country. (coward, normal)

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I've been successfully avoiding the draft until it was abolished.

[Thunderbird is the word]

I've been successfully avoiding the draft until it was abolished.

probably dumb question but what country are you from? Can't figure it out from your avatar honestly.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Object.  If that doesn't work, wait for the medical exam.  If by some bizarre chance I don't fail that, flee to Canada.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Try to dodge it by exploiting any loophole I can find. If that doesn't work, flee the country. (coward, normal)

and

Object.  If that doesn't work, wait for the medical exam.  If by some bizarre chance I don't fail that, flee to Canada.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I've been successfully avoiding the draft until it was abolished.

probably dumb question but what country are you from? Can't figure it out from your avatar honestly.

Can't you identify a distinctive shape of the great country of Palau?

[Antonio the Sixth]

I've been successfully avoiding the draft until it was abolished.

probably dumb question but what country are you from? Can't figure it out from your avatar honestly.

You can't recognize a major European country by its shape?!? What kind of an Atlas poster are you??

It's Poland.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Resist. Going to jail is hardly worse than going to war.

[RFayette]

I definitely would serve if drafted, no question about it.  Heck, right now, if I have a hard time getting a job after college, I'd probably try to enlist in Officer Candidate School for the Navy or Air Force.  I've never hard any ethical qualms with respect to military service.

[Tender Branson]

I live in a draft country, so it's not hypothetical for me ...

Found an old post:

We still have the draft. I was drafted two 11 years ago to attend the compulsory 6 month military service. All 18 year old males from my town had to attend medical examination back then to see if we are fit for service.

But I decided to do 9 months of national civil service in a nursing home instead of aiming my machine gun at an illegal immigrant on the Austrian-Hungarian border.

About 60% of all newly conscripted Austrian males are serving their 6 month military service just because its shorter than the 9 month civilian service. 30% take the civilian service and 10% are not fit to do anything, they are ineligible for medical reasons etc.

[Thunderbird is the word]

I live in a draft country, so it's not hypothetical for me ...

Found an old post:

We still have the draft. I was drafted two 11 years ago to attend the compulsory 6 month military service. All 18 year old males from my town had to attend medical examination back then to see if we are fit for service.

But I decided to do 9 months of national civil service in a nursing home instead of aiming my machine gun at an illegal immigrant on the Austrian-Hungarian border.

About 60% of all newly conscripted Austrian males are serving their 6 month military service just because its shorter than the 9 month civilian service. 30% take the civilian service and 10% are not fit to do anything, they are ineligible for medical reasons etc.

Amazing that would still exist in a country with the history that Austria has. Then again I find it hard to believe that Germany still had a draft until fairly recently. I'm surprised that NATO ever allowed West Germany to reintroduce conscription.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Tender's drafting to a special interrogation unit of the Austrian military counterintelligence is as inevitable as Hillary losing WV.

[Tender Branson]

I live in a draft country, so it's not hypothetical for me ...

Found an old post:

We still have the draft. I was drafted two 11 years ago to attend the compulsory 6 month military service. All 18 year old males from my town had to attend medical examination back then to see if we are fit for service.

But I decided to do 9 months of national civil service in a nursing home instead of aiming my machine gun at an illegal immigrant on the Austrian-Hungarian border.

About 60% of all newly conscripted Austrian males are serving their 6 month military service just because its shorter than the 9 month civilian service. 30% take the civilian service and 10% are not fit to do anything, they are ineligible for medical reasons etc.

Amazing that would still exist in a country with the history that Austria has. Then again I find it hard to believe that Germany still had a draft until fairly recently. I'm surprised that NATO ever allowed West Germany to reintroduce conscription.

There was a referendum here in 2013, in which 60% of voters voted to keep the draft.

Mostly because of neutrality reasons and because the pro-draft/pro-civil service campaigners made a good point that the Red Cross and other health/care organisations would have to increase their spending if civil service and free manpower would be abolished. Also a fear of worse social cohesion in case of a professional army (more right-wingers could be drawn to a professional army, while the draft ensures a even distribution of the society at large). Besides, Austrians are not fond of NATO and like their neutrality - much like Switzerland.

Besides, the numbers on the draft/civil servive/unfit to serve have also changed since my post from 2007: Now, 50% choose to be drafted for military service, 40% opt for civil service and 10% are ruled unfit to serve (the number of unfit to serve is remaining relatively stable, even though young Austrians are getting fatter and more degenerated too like the rest of the world ).

[angus]

9 months of national civil service in a nursing home

good god, that is deeply depressing.  As bad as being ordered to sneak around, blow stuff up, and kill people sounds to me, your sentence sounds worse.  

I remember having to do the selective service registration within a month or so of my 18th birthday, which was in 1985.  (As far as I know, that is still required.)  I wasn't a big fan of it then, but I complied because I wanted to enjoy certain rights and privileges that were advertised as contingent upon selective service registration.  I do remember not being sure what I'd do if a war actually came and I was actually conscripted by the military.  There was no war for my generation so it never came up.  If I were born 20 years later or 20 years earlier than I was, I'm sure I'd have a much stronger opinion of the selective service and of conscription.

[Hatman 🍁]

I've been successfully avoiding the draft until it was abolished.

probably dumb question but what country are you from? Can't figure it out from your avatar honestly.

You can't recognize a major European country by it's shape?!? What kind of an Atlas poster are you??

Many Americans tend to not be aware of the rest of the world. Even if they like geography, their interest stops at the border.

But yeah - SAD!

[Thunderbird is the word]

I live in a draft country, so it's not hypothetical for me ...

Found an old post:

We still have the draft. I was drafted two 11 years ago to attend the compulsory 6 month military service. All 18 year old males from my town had to attend medical examination back then to see if we are fit for service.

But I decided to do 9 months of national civil service in a nursing home instead of aiming my machine gun at an illegal immigrant on the Austrian-Hungarian border.

About 60% of all newly conscripted Austrian males are serving their 6 month military service just because its shorter than the 9 month civilian service. 30% take the civilian service and 10% are not fit to do anything, they are ineligible for medical reasons etc.

Amazing that would still exist in a country with the history that Austria has. Then again I find it hard to believe that Germany still had a draft until fairly recently. I'm surprised that NATO ever allowed West Germany to reintroduce conscription.

There was a referendum here in 2013, in which 60% of voters voted to keep the draft.

Mostly because of neutrality reasons and because the pro-draft/pro-civil service campaigners made a good point that the Red Cross and other health/care organisations would have to increase their spending if civil service and free manpower would be abolished. Also a fear of worse social cohesion in case of a professional army (more right-wingers could be drawn to a professional army, while the draft ensures a even distribution of the society at large). Besides, Austrians are not fond of NATO and like their neutrality - much like Switzerland.

Besides, the numbers on the draft/civil servive/unfit to serve have also changed since my post from 2007: Now, 50% choose to be drafted for military service, 40% opt for civil service and 10% are ruled unfit to serve (the number of unfit to serve is remaining relatively stable, even though young Austrians are getting fatter and more degenerated too like the rest of the world ).

That's a fair point actually. I've heard people say the same thing about the US military, that without the draft it's just people that join because of a lack of other economic opportunities or for ideological reasons and in the post WWII era I imagine not wanting a military filled with Nazi dead enders was an even more legitimate threat.

[RaphaelDLG]

Depends on the war.  

For Vietnam and Iraq I'd try to do some form of draft evasion and maybe even some draft dodging, as both of those were abominations and I'd rather be alive than get blown up for no reason.

For something like WWII or even maybe the very early stages of Afghanistan I'd be crapping my pants, of course, but wouldn't resist and would feel patriotic.

[Tender Branson]

9 months of national civil service in a nursing home

good god, that is deeply depressing.  As bad as being ordered to sneak around, blow stuff up, and kill people sounds to me, your sentence sounds worse.  

It was a really fun time actually, you learn a lot from talking to old people and spending time with them outside, wheeling them around in their wheelchairs.

But mostly I was working with the janitor, repairing stuff at the nursing home, cleaning the rooms if someone died, mowing the lawn etc.

[Wells]

Serve, obviously. Unless I fail the medical exam for some reason.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I've been successfully avoiding the draft until it was abolished.

probably dumb question but what country are you from? Can't figure it out from your avatar honestly.

You can't recognize a major European country by it's shape?!? What kind of an Atlas poster are you??

Many Americans tend to not be aware of the rest of the world. Even if they like geography, their interest stops at the border.

I know but this is the Atlas Forum, goddamnit!!!

[Green Line]

How many Americans here are registered with Selective Service?  It's the law, but I know a lot of my peers aren't registered, mostly because they aren't even aware of it.

Most government jobs require you to be registered.

[Thunderbird is the word]

How many Americans here are registered with Selective Service?  It's the law, but I know a lot of my peers aren't registered, mostly because they aren't even aware of it.

Most government jobs require you to be registered.

I'm registered, mainly because I knew it would be necessary for taking out money for school.

[Thunderbird is the word]

I've been successfully avoiding the draft until it was abolished.

probably dumb question but what country are you from? Can't figure it out from your avatar honestly.

You can't recognize a major European country by it's shape?!? What kind of an Atlas poster are you??

Many Americans tend to not be aware of the rest of the world. Even if they like geography, their interest stops at the border.

I know but this is the Atlas Forum, goddamnit!!!

I'm generally pretty aware of and knowledgeable about the world and most countries I could pick out on a map. It was just that one, absent geographic context that I had trouble making out.

[FairBol]

Object.  If that doesn't work, wait for the medical exam.  If by some bizarre chance I don't fail that, flee to Canada.

Yeah.  Mark me down as a conscientious objector.