Brits face three separate strategies of conscription if WW3 breaks out
As fears of all-out conflict ramp up further, the UK may look to European conscription models if mandatory military service were to be rolled out – though the Government says it’s not considering it
Brits have been warned of how they may be conscripted (stock)(Image: CC Mark OWens/Army / SWNS)
As global tensions escalate, Britons may understandably worry about the possibility of large-scale warfare. Vladimir Putin’s forces continue their full throated assault on Ukraine, while China poses a threat to Taiwan.
Compulsory military service was first implemented in the UK in 1916 during the First World War to strengthen troop numbers after recruiting volunteer forces. It was reintroduced in 1939 as war was declared with Hitler’s Germany.
The British Government stated last year that conscription wasn’t under consideration, though nobody can predict what lies ahead. Should compulsory military service be implemented in the UK, it might follow one of the frameworks currently operating across Europe.
A European Union (EU) briefing outlined the various forms of conscription presently used by continental nations in March last year, beginning with a compulsory service framework.
This involves summoning all eligible recruits, typically through several annual conscription rounds, reports the Express.
The EU document stated: “For instance, Greece has six conscription cycles for the Hellenic Army. Due to the massive number of conscripts, this model requires significant resources to cover their needs.”
The second approach uses a lottery system to determine who will serve. Authorities highlighted Latvia as a case study.
The Baltic nation “randomly selects conscripts using special software, which typically calls at least one person per municipality”, the report explained. “In this model, the majority of the eligible conscripts voluntarily join the military to perform military service.”
In the end, selective compulsory service models determine enrolment “based on their motivation, interest in the military and level of education”.
Earlier this year, the UK’s Defence Secretary expressed his interest in conscription during a meeting with Norwegian soldiers currently serving national service.
At a border patrol station in north east Norway, John Healey informed the conscripts: “We have no conscription in the UK.
“I’m really interested you have conscription but you have it as a competition.
“You are not told to come into the military, you apply. Not everybody has an opportunity.”
The conscripted soldiers shared with Mr Healey about their duties patrolling the nearly 200km border with Russia.
Certain Brits would be exempt from conscription, author and historian David Swift previously suggested to The Express.
He stated: “Today, since there is such an urgent need to rebuild Britain’s defence industries and industrial capacity, I would expect that people in these important occupations would be exempt.
“Or even that people could be ‘conscripted’ into working in these industries, and that military conscription would target unemployed graduates – this would be very popular with lots of people and especially the Blue Labour thinkers behind Starmer.”
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