Should compulsory military service be abolished?

(ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY) The problem of compulsory military service has always been a controversial issue. Some people strongly support this idea while others are definitely against it. Although it has been claimed that the military service should be compulsory because of its benefits to governments, compulsory military service shouldn’t be abolished because of its limitations to citizens. It is commonly maintained that compulsory military service affects government’s economy in positive way, yet military service is cheaper than mandotary in long-term.

Supporters of compulsory military service believe that mandotary military service is a must for countries to develop their economy. The choices of developing countries could be a good example for benefits of compulsory military service. Developing countries mostly prefer compulsory military service to grow their economy. Portugal is one of the these countries. Since Portugal moved on to free military service there is a rapidly increase in civilian wages. However United States shows that countries can have both powerful economy and strong military power despite using free military service.

According to Chapman, the cost of a volunteer is more expensive than full-time soldiers. (2002) Another argument widely claimed against abolishing compulsory military service is based on the assumption that young people could improve themselves physically and psychologically, pn the other hand it may cause harmful consequences on many sensitive young men. Proponents of compulsory military service claim that personality of young men would be developed during military service.

They think that military service would make young men disciplined and principled. Laar stated “ During the course of compulsory military service, a number of skills required for civilian life are acquired. ” (2011) According to Kelty, Kleykamp and Segal, military service is an experience that turns youth to adults. (2010) Nevertheless, compulsory military service may cause permanent problems in young people’s character and their lives. Forcing sensitive young men to strict the rules may lead to terrible damage to their psyche or even suicide.

Citizens aren’t free to choose how they live in the countries using mandotary military service. They would be forced to something against their plans and they can’t live their lives how they wish. Other frequently heard arguments in support of compulsory military service is its necessity to protect national security against threats, yet it is unnecessary to maintain large armies because the strength of the country doesn’t depend on the manpower of an army; it is related to skills and knowledge of experts who are specially educated.

A common claim is that compulsory military service is necessary to protect national security against threats. They think that the increased number of soldiers helps to fight against terrorism. It can frighten enemies to have a great number of soldiers. However, maintaining large permanent armies is not essential in our age because technology is developed. Nucleer weapons are one of the high-tech weapons and they can be operated by a small force.

Professional soldiers are specially educated to operate complicated missles of an intercontinental range so the number of the soldiers is not so important. For example Turkey is one of the countries that have increased number of soldiers but they can’t eliminate terrorism in many years. In conclusion, best opinion would be forming smaller professional armies consisting of young men who like military life and who can easily adopt to hard conditions. Everyone should be granted freedom of choice and not forced to do something against his plans or nature.