Royal Marines veteran and two-time London Marathon runner Ben McBean called the idea “stupid”.
Taking to social media site Twitter/X, Ben, who lost two limbs after stepping on a Taliban landmine in Afghanistan in 2008, said: “Conscription is the stupidest idea. No wonder armed forces numbers are low. If people ain’t joining out of free will how the heck is forcing people to join going to help?
“The idea is that people want to fight for crown and country and enjoy a few perks along the way. “Imagine forcing people to join who don’t want to, you’d have recruits dripping about being shouted at.
“Someone shoots the instructor, someone swallows a grenade or throws it at someone. The last people you want to serve with in any kind of situation is someone who don’t want to be there. These fools and their ideas – no wonder nobody’s interested anymore.”
This conscription thing is the deadest of dead cats.
“You’ve gotta die, gotta die, gotta die for your government?
Die for your country? That’s shit!
You’ve gotta die, gotta die, gotta die for your government?
Die for your country? That’s shit!”
[deleted]
The conscription model for the army has been ruled out.
This isn’t some piddling middle eastern occupation.
The idea of total war, conventional war? With an actual real state with a real army?
Those fights will be over in days, not years.
How THE FUCK is the topic of conscription even being mentioned with any seriousness in 2024 Britain?
I know people criticise the tories’ 14 years tenure but this takes the biscuit. Is this where we’ve arrived to? Sending normal, innocent British citizens to get their legs blown off? Make how many widows and orphans?
Like how? how? how? is this a thing?
Edit: Having thought more…. maybe its a bluff to deter Russia. That we can be strong if we need to be. Hope so.
Announcing conscription is opening a second front, immediately, at home.
Eh, I think a lot of people would be prepared to fight for their country, and even to be conscripted. BUT, I don’t think people will accept conscription only as a result of government cutting the military and now they need to make the numbers up.
Are we pretending that a war with Russia would be over in about 30mins? Or is everyone ignoring the nuclear question?
You can see what happened in Russia with forced conscription.
I *soooo* hope this turns into a situation where the Tsar orderered the soldiers to shoot protestors and they went “nah g ur clapped” and turned their guns on the palace.
Conscription will never work, I will rot in jail or desert before I see a front line of battle.
The reality is if we don’t fund sufficient professional military personal to defend Britain (and it’s allies) should war arise, we’d need to look to the civilian population to make up the deficit. No one Wants a conscription based armed forces, history has proven time and again how much less effective they are as a fighting force. As well as other social elements.
😂 One bloke in charge mentions conscription because he wants a bigger budget and Redditors thinks the military is going to force them to join. The military turn down most applicants, they could always just lower the required standard if they needed more recruits. Most of you guys wouldn’t stand a chance of getting in anyway.
If you don’t want to be conscripted, just say you’re an anarchist. I’d be very surprised indeed if any government voluntarily chooses to put a weapon in my hands. Which is a bit nonsense, because I’m not exactly the fighty type. Unless they need cat ladies on the front line, which would put a whole new slant on ‘war vet’. On the other hand, I’m still ‘the enemy’, on probably a larger amount of points than the people they want to shoot at are.
who has the higher body count of uk citizens, and so, is higher threat.
(a) binlading and daesh/taliban, or, (b) IDS and the DWP/crapita
We must be the most placid, servile pathetic generation in U.K. history. We let them take our health service, destroy our economy, take away our freedoms, destroy our children’s future, lock us in our own homes, steal/corrupt and embezzle whatever the fuck they want with no repercussions. Now we are about to let them send our sons to fight in far away lands to die, suffer unknown horrors and lose limbs. When will enough be enough for the British people I wonder.
Conscripts should be led into battle by Charles III #workshywilly & @RishiSunak! All NCOs should be serving MPs.
Frankly wouldn’t put it past this lot to get us into a war just to cull some “useless eaters”.
I’m not sure why adverts are allowed.
That’s all this is.
I understand the concerns but how else can we save the Ukraine?
I’ll happily be conscripted to defend my homeland but conscript me to fight overseas and I’ll kill my CO the second they hand me a rifle
I have no idea why people are getting so bent out of shape over this.
Media, whipping up a BS frenzy, as usual.
Wtf is this trumped up bullshit? Why is it grabbing peoples attention? It was clearly bollocks from the outset, what are the Government trying to hide today?
If they want to start conscripting they can start with the nobs, let them do the dying for a change.
So conscription would be for both genders now right?
First they have to fix the system. Plenty of people out there considering a military career but the sign-up process is apparently overly complex and takes ages to process, just like everything else in the UK that’s broken.
They’re not going to conscript anyone if they can’t even get the volunteers in.
He’s 100000000% correct. First of all no sane person wants war. Only the greedy politicians do and when things will hit the fan eventually they will run away and hide in their bunkers while average Joe like me or you will die in their pointless war. Second of all someone who’s FORCED to do something against their will be pretty much useless. 1 volunteer is worth more than 10 people who are forcefully made to do something.
The Tory urge to kneecap the armed forces so we’re forced to conscript if anything happens
ffs nobody agrees with this, its just a jingoistic dog-whistle call to the old tory boomers.
It’s optimistic thinking anyone would be forced into national service, especially in the enclaves who may not be willing to fight for the UK or whatever fight the US drags us into.
You’ve also got to consider the poor health and fitness of the average person which was made worse by covid.
Am I the only one that read this story as “give us more money or you are going to war!”
Don’t really believe it but very happy I have a psych condition that means they wouldn’t come near me. Get fucked.
Gen Z is so polarised that half of them would no show from training, the other half will be more than happy to knife the CO, steal the guns and take over London by themselves. I don’t know anyone who believes in Britain anymore.
They didn’t want me when I tried to voluntarily, now they can fuck off if they try to make me.
To everyone saying ‘this would never work’. I ask – can you give examples where conscription has failed in the way you imagine this would fail?
36 comments
Royal Marines veteran and two-time London Marathon runner Ben McBean called the idea “stupid”.
Taking to social media site Twitter/X, Ben, who lost two limbs after stepping on a Taliban landmine in Afghanistan in 2008, said: “Conscription is the stupidest idea. No wonder armed forces numbers are low. If people ain’t joining out of free will how the heck is forcing people to join going to help?
“The idea is that people want to fight for crown and country and enjoy a few perks along the way. “Imagine forcing people to join who don’t want to, you’d have recruits dripping about being shouted at.
“Someone shoots the instructor, someone swallows a grenade or throws it at someone. The last people you want to serve with in any kind of situation is someone who don’t want to be there. These fools and their ideas – no wonder nobody’s interested anymore.”
This conscription thing is the deadest of dead cats.
“You’ve gotta die, gotta die, gotta die for your government?
Die for your country? That’s shit!
You’ve gotta die, gotta die, gotta die for your government?
Die for your country? That’s shit!”
[deleted]
The conscription model for the army has been ruled out.
This isn’t some piddling middle eastern occupation.
The idea of total war, conventional war? With an actual real state with a real army?
Those fights will be over in days, not years.
How THE FUCK is the topic of conscription even being mentioned with any seriousness in 2024 Britain?
I know people criticise the tories’ 14 years tenure but this takes the biscuit. Is this where we’ve arrived to? Sending normal, innocent British citizens to get their legs blown off? Make how many widows and orphans?
Like how? how? how? is this a thing?
Edit: Having thought more…. maybe its a bluff to deter Russia. That we can be strong if we need to be. Hope so.
Announcing conscription is opening a second front, immediately, at home.
Eh, I think a lot of people would be prepared to fight for their country, and even to be conscripted. BUT, I don’t think people will accept conscription only as a result of government cutting the military and now they need to make the numbers up.
Are we pretending that a war with Russia would be over in about 30mins? Or is everyone ignoring the nuclear question?
You can see what happened in Russia with forced conscription.
I *soooo* hope this turns into a situation where the Tsar orderered the soldiers to shoot protestors and they went “nah g ur clapped” and turned their guns on the palace.
Conscription will never work, I will rot in jail or desert before I see a front line of battle.
The reality is if we don’t fund sufficient professional military personal to defend Britain (and it’s allies) should war arise, we’d need to look to the civilian population to make up the deficit. No one Wants a conscription based armed forces, history has proven time and again how much less effective they are as a fighting force. As well as other social elements.
😂 One bloke in charge mentions conscription because he wants a bigger budget and Redditors thinks the military is going to force them to join. The military turn down most applicants, they could always just lower the required standard if they needed more recruits. Most of you guys wouldn’t stand a chance of getting in anyway.
If you don’t want to be conscripted, just say you’re an anarchist. I’d be very surprised indeed if any government voluntarily chooses to put a weapon in my hands. Which is a bit nonsense, because I’m not exactly the fighty type. Unless they need cat ladies on the front line, which would put a whole new slant on ‘war vet’. On the other hand, I’m still ‘the enemy’, on probably a larger amount of points than the people they want to shoot at are.
who has the higher body count of uk citizens, and so, is higher threat.
(a) binlading and daesh/taliban, or, (b) IDS and the DWP/crapita
We must be the most placid, servile pathetic generation in U.K. history. We let them take our health service, destroy our economy, take away our freedoms, destroy our children’s future, lock us in our own homes, steal/corrupt and embezzle whatever the fuck they want with no repercussions. Now we are about to let them send our sons to fight in far away lands to die, suffer unknown horrors and lose limbs. When will enough be enough for the British people I wonder.
Conscripts should be led into battle by Charles III #workshywilly & @RishiSunak! All NCOs should be serving MPs.
Frankly wouldn’t put it past this lot to get us into a war just to cull some “useless eaters”.
I’m not sure why adverts are allowed.
That’s all this is.
I understand the concerns but how else can we save the Ukraine?
I’ll happily be conscripted to defend my homeland but conscript me to fight overseas and I’ll kill my CO the second they hand me a rifle
I have no idea why people are getting so bent out of shape over this.
Media, whipping up a BS frenzy, as usual.
Wtf is this trumped up bullshit? Why is it grabbing peoples attention? It was clearly bollocks from the outset, what are the Government trying to hide today?
If they want to start conscripting they can start with the nobs, let them do the dying for a change.
So conscription would be for both genders now right?
First they have to fix the system. Plenty of people out there considering a military career but the sign-up process is apparently overly complex and takes ages to process, just like everything else in the UK that’s broken.
They’re not going to conscript anyone if they can’t even get the volunteers in.
He’s 100000000% correct. First of all no sane person wants war. Only the greedy politicians do and when things will hit the fan eventually they will run away and hide in their bunkers while average Joe like me or you will die in their pointless war. Second of all someone who’s FORCED to do something against their will be pretty much useless. 1 volunteer is worth more than 10 people who are forcefully made to do something.
The Tory urge to kneecap the armed forces so we’re forced to conscript if anything happens
ffs nobody agrees with this, its just a jingoistic dog-whistle call to the old tory boomers.
It’s optimistic thinking anyone would be forced into national service, especially in the enclaves who may not be willing to fight for the UK or whatever fight the US drags us into.
You’ve also got to consider the poor health and fitness of the average person which was made worse by covid.
Am I the only one that read this story as “give us more money or you are going to war!”
Don’t really believe it but very happy I have a psych condition that means they wouldn’t come near me. Get fucked.
Gen Z is so polarised that half of them would no show from training, the other half will be more than happy to knife the CO, steal the guns and take over London by themselves. I don’t know anyone who believes in Britain anymore.
They didn’t want me when I tried to voluntarily, now they can fuck off if they try to make me.
To everyone saying ‘this would never work’. I ask – can you give examples where conscription has failed in the way you imagine this would fail?
Genuinely curious. Even Vietnam seemed to work.