Is it time for the United Kingdom to bring back national service and what are the benefits of doing so?

Article written by Nisha Rikhi, BA in Politics and International Relations from University of Sussex, GDL graduate, and current LPC student.

Given the conflict in Ukraine and the instability in the Middle East, now is a good time to think about bringing back national service. War feels closer now than it ever has before, with soaring inflation, economic sanctions on Russian oligarchs, and Russian aggression on the borders of Europe. With this in mind, it is prudent for us to examine the benefits of bringing back national service, given that this is something that army generals and some politicians are advocating for.

Politicians who favour bringing back national service argue that it would improve social cohesion. The idea is that if you throw together young people from across the racial, religious, and cultural divide, they will divest themselves of some of their individuality in order to better their identity as a collective. That could be a good thing as it would increase a sense of togetherness that is required in times of national crisis. And given that war could be coming closer to our shores, it would be sensible for the government to make it compulsory for young people to participate in national service, if for no other reason than to encourage the fostering of camaraderie.

Camaraderie is one of those skills that it is arguable that people learn from national service. In fact, one of the main benefits of national service is that it teaches skills. In many respects, national service is very similar to the army cadets and the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, in that young people are learning new skills and volunteering their time to benefit the community. As someone who did the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh, I can testify that young people have the opportunity to learn a variety of skills on such schemes. Skills young people can gain include cooking, sewing, first aid, and map reading. Making it compulsory for young people to participate in national service, during which time they will obtain skills that will make them more employable, is appealing. This explains why there are people in the country, including politicians, who support national service. It can thereby be argued that if we wish to increase the skillset of young people then we should encourage the government to bring back national service.

One could argue that making participation in national service compulsory for people would help to reduce antisocial behaviour and crime. If you make it compulsory for people to commit to a certain number of hours of national service each year, you take away time for them to get in trouble. There is a view that making national service mandatory will increase discipline and self-motivation amongst young people. And particularly people who may be dropping out of education, failing to enter employment, and in trouble with the law. This view has merit as requiring people to spend a stipulated amount of time volunteering their time to serve the nation results in greater skills, greater employability, and less time to get in trouble. If we wish to see less crime, less antisocial behaviour, and more young people obtaining gainful employment, then perhaps it is time that Britian brings back national service.

Requiring British citizens to do national service would give people a better understanding of what the armed forces is for. This is because there is feeling among army generals that there are some communities in Britian who associate the armed forces with oppression. It is important that young people from across Britain understand that the British armed forces are there to defend their freedom and their democratic values. This is because if young people do not understand what the armed forces are in existence for then they will not attract the recruits and volunteers necessary to defend the country. This means that if we want to ensure the security of the country and our national interests, we need to think about introducing a compulsory scheme that will improve relations between the people and the armed forces. Introducing compulsory national service is a viable option for fostering good relations between young people and the military. This is because young people would be required to spend a certain amount of time volunteering and training with the armed forces. This gives the army the chance to build camaraderie and respect with a cohort of British population that it needs in the future in order to boost the armed forces numbers and make the armed forces a more effective defence for the country. Therefore, if we want an effective armed forces that can defend the nation, then it is possible that we need to reintroduce national service to build relations between the military and the people which will make it easier to recruit the young into armed service.

In conclusion, bringing back compulsory national service certainly has its benefits for the country. From a societal viewpoint, it is inarguable that we as a people would benefit from the social cohesion, reduction in crime, increase in skills, and greater employment that national service could bring. Yet while all those benefits are good, the most important benefit is to the armed forces itself and the relationship it has with people. This is because bringing back national service could result in greater kinship and camaraderie between soldiers and civilians. In particular, it could help to strengthen ties between the armed forces and communities across the country, making people more likely to volunteer to join the armed forces in the future. At a time when Russia is looming large and there are armed conflicts breaking out in the Middle East, anything that increases a feeling of togetherness and patriotism which could inspire people to serve in the armed forces can only be a good thing. Therefore, it is arguable that the country should seriously consider bringing back national service.