Published on 12, July, 2020
I see this old chestnut has come to the fore again. I can see problems with it.
Does the military want all these people for a year or so and what will they do with them?
If people are made to volunteer for things like life boats, special constables and library assistants, will it mean that the training for such things will outlast the service time?
Will real jobs be at risk because people are volunteering?
If theres no sanctions how will they make people do it?
Will it mean that those currently on benefits will be sanctioned for not "doing their bit"?
Will this idea have mission creep? If not enough people volunteer, will some kind of sanction be imposed?
It all sounds desperate to me, like a political party flailing about to find vote winning policies that are ill thought out.
It won't come in until 2029 anyway, just in time for another election, hmmm?
I can see the value in something like the Civil Defence Corps. Have a nucleus of permanent staff, and top up with volunteers and national service trainees. Train them in basic first aid, radio communications, rescue skills and how to deal with civil emergencies such as floods. Link it to an NVQ so they get a qualification. Give the option of staying on as a volunteer and learn additional transferable skills. As with the TA, have an annual retainer and pay for days on duty, weekend training etc.
Encourage volunteering with HM Coastguard, RNLI, Mountain Rescue, RVS, Red Cross, St John Ambulance etc. to meet the required number of service hours.
At the same time, encourage schools to start CCF and support voluntary youth organisations working with younger kids - there are Scouts, Brigades, St John Ambulance, Red Cross, Police and Fire Cadets and loads of other voluntary youth organisations that offer structured programmes and need resources and leaders. Count service as leaders with such organisations as meeting the requirement.
Have a military option, but make it something useful ... not square bashing and busywork like some of the stories about the old National Service personnel painting coal white etc.. I am thinking something along the lines of the old TA / Home Guard who, in an emergency, could guard airfields and barracks and release more qualified service personnel for active duty. Again, this could include SIA training so that they could work as security guards on completion of their training commitment. I remember the military who supported the security at the London Olympic Games - this could be handled by National Service personnel with regular miltiary NCOs supervising.
Young people with appropriate skills - and that could include some of our neurodivergent youngsters - could be involved in an apprenticeship with the security services to tackle cyber crime and terrorism, possibly leading to permanent employment.
Whats CCF and SIA?
What about those of us who don't do groups and teamwork? The ideas that you've come up with fill me with horror, I know I was brought up by someone who would never allow me do somethig where I had to wear a uniform, but the idea of all this militaristic structured training just seems weird!
Arn't there already things like The Duke Of Edinburgh Awards that do all this stuff with young people?
I'm dubious about things like making young people do things like search and rescue, will they be given the right equipment to enable them to do it? Or will it be another cash burden on financially over stretched parents? Will the state pick up the tab for young people in care?
You're obviously a person who enjoys group/team work and see's the value in it, I'm the opposite and I think it would either put me into melt down or engage my fight/flight responses to such a degree that it would be seriously harmful to me and those around me, I'd probably oscilate between fighting, fleeing and meltdowns.
We are talking 18+ i.e. young adults, so presumably they would not be parents' responsibility. If it were National Service all equipment, uniform or whatever would need to be provided, just as if they were in the military
A lot of autistic young people get involved with uniformed youth organisations - two autistic teenagers live in my road, one is in the Boys Brigade and the other was in Scouts before going to university. I was in the CCF (Combined Cadet Force) at school and in the Scouts - as you suggest, I liked the structure and the adventurous stuff suited my ADHD. Many of my peers were, like me, "weirdly wired" but undiagnosed.
The Duke of Edinburgh's award is delivered through schools and youth organisations, and could be incorporated into a National Service scheme as extra accreditation.
Presumably there would need to be some special provision for individuals with physical or intellectual disabilities, mental health difficulties, social phobia etc.
SIA - Security Industry Authority - the body which licenses security cards.
TheCatWoman said:Is this your road in Brazil or the one you used to live in the UK? Because I imagine that they're rather different?
Ian is not Iain