…………..We Reintroduced National Service.

I can hear the screams already – not necessarily all from those who would actually serve but from the ‘do-gooders’,  the ‘activists’ and all of the others in the ‘all mouth and no brains’ category. Those who, like the average politician, will scream ‘no’ first and then when they have brought their, admittedly very limited, acumen to bear and realised the idea was a good one claim it as their own ! And those who, like your local union activist, scream ‘cheap labour’ before putting their brains in gear and realising that their entire membership has spent the last 50 years putting itself out of work by purchasing with great enthusiasm, not to mention enormous greed, products made abroad often by very cheap labour. So, let’s examine the idea and see what I have in mind.

There is a preconception in most peoples’ minds that National Service has to involve the Armed Forces – and, of course, it doesn’t. ‘National’ means ‘of, or common to a nation’ and ‘Service’ means ‘ the act of helping, or doing work for, another or for a community’. There’s no mention of guns, tanks, ships, planes or bombs !! What I am suggesting would be a uniformed, civil (in all senses of the word), non belligerent, community service taskforce. The basic training could be such as to make the service available for more hostile duties in a case of national emergency. In such a circumstance the people involved would likely be called upon anyway so there is much to be gained by having them basically trained ready,

I would suggest a two year term commencing at age 18yrs. or on completion of the final educational term in the academic year in which that age was reached – whichever comes the later. There would be no exceptions except for total physical incapacity and certified insanity. Deferment could be granted for one year for those involved in post 16 education for the purposes of a ‘year out’ taken prior to National Service and for this reason only. Such a ‘year out’ could equally well be taken after the Service but the whether and when will remain totally optional. For those going on to University it would mean that they would be two years less infantile on their arrival - which could only be a good thing. Those going abroad, and staying abroad in the hope of avoiding the service would nevertheless become liable for the service on any subsequent return to this country up to the age of, say, 45yrs. I’m all for a bit of equality of opportunity (and of responsibility) so this service would most definitely not be male only – the girls would participate as well. Possibly each male camp could be at least 100 miles in all directions from any female camp – oh my !!

During this period of service remuneration would be made at the level of the legal minimum rate. Any necessary overtime, in excess of the basic minimum, required by the service, would be compulsory but paid for at premium rates. All days of the week to be treated as identical. Payment would come in three forms:-

1. Subsistence.
2. Pocket Money.
3. Credits.

Full ‘Board & Lodging’ would, of course, be ‘found’, as would return transport costs home for ‘leave’. Any subsistence costs over and above the 3 square meals and mid-morning, mid-afternoon and mid-evening light refreshments provided, would have to be met out of Item 1. above. Any other personal costs would come out of Item 2. Neither items 1. or 2. would be large – there would be little time or opportunity to spend them, the service would see to that !  Item 3., the Credits, would be put in a personal compound interest bearing fund which would, in due course be paid out to help finance University expenses later or, for those not wishing to attend University, to assist in the purchase of living accommodation – and for these two purposes only. The credits could be left to accumulate compound interest at the going rate for as long as the beneficiary desired.

On satisfactory completion of the two years service a Certificate would be issued. It would become necessary to present this certificate in order to gain access to higher education. It would also become necessary to present this certificate in order to gain employment or, under whatever name was currently in use, unemployment benefit. It would become illegal to grant places in higher education or to provide employment without the necessary production of this certificate. This being the case any young person not satisfactorily discharging his or her duties during their two year stint could well find themselves doing an extra year (or more) in order to qualify for their completion certificate ! During the period of service full facilities would be provided for participation in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, at all levels,  and such participation would be actively encouraged. As an incentive to participate in this scheme as an extra-curricular activity bonuses would be paid on the rate of pay, increasing for each award earned, from the date of qualifying for the award until the end of service.

The service could be undertaken  in the UK or, on a voluntary basis, and subsequent to a 12 weeks basic training course,  abroad - in non-hostile environments.
More usually, Foreign Service would only be likely to be available in the second year and would be at the discretion of the applicant’s  C.O. All initial training and as much of the subsequent service as is practicable would be from bases at least 200 miles from home.

The initial training for this service would follow a recognised pattern. There would be a 6 weeks, army style, basic training course. This would include the use of firearms, emergency rescue and survival equipment and disaster management facilities and include training in first aid and life saving.  Following this there would be another 6 weeks of concentrated basic trade training. During this period it would be absolutely vital to impose discipline, inculcate self discipline and teach survival skills. A uniform would be provided and worn at all times, including when on ‘leave’. Seven days leave would be given after each 12 weeks of service. This could be deferred once and taken in a combined 14 day break if required and the necessary notice given. All of the non-staff participants in this Service would be known as National Service Cadets.

There is plenty of scope for finding such a Cadet Force useful work to do that, for whatever reason, isn’t getting done now and is quite probably otherwise even less likely to get done in the future. We could usefully get a few pointers from The National and Community Service Programme in the USA. This is essentially a  volunteer programme, albeit with some earnable fringe benefits for the volunteers, with volunteers from all age groups, all walks of life and all types of work experience; but notwithstanding this, much of what they do could be undertaken by the Service I am suggesting and with equivalent benefits. I have come up with a few headings and I am sure that you, the reader, could come up with many more. My initial suggestions, in no particular order, would be:-

Cleaning up and improving the environment.
Public Open Space Care and Management
Provision of assistance to voluntary organisations.
Provision of assistance in non-hostile emergency situations.
Stewarding at public functions.
Assistant Youth Leaders
After School Group Activities
Neighbourhood Patrols
Help the aged schemes

I don’t care how much it would cost; it would be money well spent. If necessary we could cut overseas aid budgets to pay for it. I was taught, as a child, that charity begins at home – and we have lost sight of that as busy politicians seek to enhance their international ‘image’ at our expense for, all too frequently, very little actual benefit to the peoples who are supposed to be getting the aid. There would, after all, be benefits that would save money and defray at least some of the expense. It would get two years worth of drunken yobs off the streets for a start. That is not to say that all of the members of the age group in question are drunken yobs but it would be true to say that the bulk of the drunken yobs are in that age group. Well, I know what I mean !!  If the job were to be done properly it would steady them down to the extent that when they got back into circulation, as it were, their behaviour patterns would have been modified for the better and, hopefully, self-discipline would have become part of their lives.

There is little doubt that the crime-rate would drop alarmingly (around 16% of the prison population is in the 15-21 age group), as would the frequency of road accidents (the 17 –21 age group accounts for 7% of driving licences in the UK but accounts for rather more than 14% of road traffic accidents involving injury ). There would also be a marked drop in the level of unemployment. It is not without significance that the unemployment rate, as of mid 2005, is  three times higher in the 18 – 24 age group than in the 25 – 49 age group. All of this would save an awful lot in costs. When, eventually, the youngsters who had completed a period of National Service, such as I am suggesting, came into the job market they would be two years older than the current norm, two years more experienced in the trials and vicissitudes of life, two years better trained and much more than two years more useful to both society and employers. They would already have a breadth of skills and experience. Most of all they will have learned a little discipline along the way.

The only argument against all of this is the political one. Since the majority of this age group doesn’t bother to vote anyway such an argument immediately begins to crumble and if all the Political Working Men's Clubs could agree for once in their singularly useless lives that such a service would actually be in the national interest then it would collapse altogether. The young have been born, fed, clothed, housed and educated all for free. Whether, or not, they actually asked to be born, they are here and it is not, therefore, totally unreasonable to require them to put something back into the pot before embarking on a life of their own!