National Day of Service 2025 is on Monday, January 20, 2025: National service.?

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I have indeed been in National Service in Finland. It is 6 months for regulars, and 12 for officers and under-officers (sergeants and the like).

It's not pleasant, but perhaps the USA national service wont be practicing in such extreme weather as the Finnish one... It gets pretty cold during winter... I remember one Survival March, or as one of the officers named it "The Experience March" trudging through half a meter of snow (we had to change the leader all the time to prevent exhaustion) for about 30 kms, where we were allowed to try make food from a "half a pig" (which turned out to be basically the backside of a pig, skinned) and some vegetables. And then we slept without a tent in -28 degrees celsius.

We woke up after couple of hours of sleep and then marched out again, and the first "point" we had ordered us to create stretchers... and carry the most overweight person in it for 4 km... Who happened to be really overweight (you don't get athletic people in National Service). Luckily, we were about 7 in a group, because carrying the dude was limited to about 10 minutes per person before we had to switch. This was about a month in to the National Serice, during "Basic". Other pleasant occasions are being eaten alive by mosquitoes after a 40km march during the summer, freezing in your post during the winter (frostbite is a real possibility), and heat exhaustion durin the summer in offencive drills.

This does in fact create some "looneys" who start worship the indoctrination, but usually it just fosters a kind of seething hate and loathing... Because you don't really "need" to be there. In fact, with the parameters that you give, how would national service be different from a prison camp?

OOoh, I forgot to tell about the marches that take two days, and you are never told how long exactly the march is. You are just ordered to wake up in the morning and pack your stuff. Guess if the people who have to go there will hate you people who don't go there!

National service kids ?

The responsibility of teaching 16 year old kids respect, obedience and tolerance is not the governments, but the parents. You want to scoop all your eggs up in one basket and send them off to camp don't blame me when your little pride and joy comes back with a whole new vocabulary and a 20 a day smoking habit.

Teachers are no longer social workers, it's up to the parents or parent, and if they can't cope, then the relevant authorities.

National service for those who's parents cannot control their kids. Some parents take time and effort with their kids, they enjoy it and and try to make it work. Are we to take these kids as well?

Forget the 6 weeks in the summer. Ask the head masters and police who the trouble makers are, the hoodies, the A.S.B.O's etc., and pass a law that these kids get national service. And like in "Bad Lads Army" don't let them out until they are taught what their parents failed to teach them.

National Service?

No. At the age of 18, American males have to sign up for Selective Service. This is basically a registration for a draft, in case of an all-out war. It is a hold-over from the Cold War days. But there is no National Service requirement.