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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsForeign policyStarted 11yrs agoActive 2yrs ago

Should every 18 year old citizen be required to provide at least one year of military service?

Conscription is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national military service. In the U.S. the Select Service System drafted men for World War 1, World War 2 and Vietnam. Military service is currently not required in the U.S. Proponents of required service argue that it isn’t fair that a small percentage of Americans serve in the military to protect the rest of the population. Opponents argue that the requirement is unnecessary because modern warfare is fought less and less with ground troops and more with unmanned technology including drones.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 2.6m America voters.

20%
Yes
80%
No
14%
Yes
69%
No
3%
Yes, but with less focus on military training and more focus on education and skill development
11%
No, service should be a choice instead of an obligation
3%
Yes, but only for those who do not pursue further education or employment
1%
Yes, but only for those who are starting to build a criminal record
0%
Yes, and it should be at least two years of service

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from America voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @9D5CKFH from Texas  answered…3yrs3Y

Yes, within reason. Some are physically or mentally unable, and should not be enlisted. Most are capable, and military service would provide for national defense. It could also create a more cohesive patriotic society.

 @9VTCKXN from Texas  answered…2yrs2Y

Yes, every MALE should be required to train but serve on a volunteer basis, unless there is an extreme emergency. But all men should be trained and prepared in case of an emergency. And all citizen should be given vouchers to arms tax free on their 20th birthday to be part of a well formed militia on a moments notice. We give tax dollars to arm other nations but we should first arm our own nation.

 @3PQRGLRfrom Illinois  answered…6yrs6Y

Two years of service to the country should be required, but it does not have to be in the military. Working with inner city youth, updating infrastructure, etc. should be able to count.

 @3PPBRKBfrom Virginia  answered…6yrs6Y

I think there should be a system of national service for all which could be performed in many different ways. Perhaps a ranking system where military service earned the highest points towards fulfillment, but a variety of community services, on a part time basis could earn enough points over a longer time period. We should all be required to give something back. We all have different talents. I think a draft should be ok in the most serious of times, but the women need to register, too. Community service could begin in high school. Would be good to get the kids off of the technology and over themselves.

 @9G2NJSH from Connecticut  answered…3yrs3Y

Yes, at least 2 years of military or community service or be involved in local government in some way

 @9GC8NTG from Pennsylvania  answered…3yrs3Y

Only if the U.S. military was struggling to get soldiers and military workers should they be allowed to force U.S citizens to provide one year of military service

 @98J88XH from South Carolina  answered…3yrs3Y

No unless we are at a major war.

 @8JCJLWV from Texas  answered…6yrs6Y

Inclined towards yes, but this would be a huge change -- instead alternatively should be cosidred

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Germany considers revival of compulsory national military service

Germany has unveiled the most sweeping military reforms since the cold war, including the possible revival of national service, as part of efforts to better prepare its armed forces to defend Nato territory.Speaking in Berlin on Thursday on the military alliance’s 75th anniversary, defence minister Boris Pistorius said he had signed an order to reorganise the German military from top to bottom.“It is a landmark reform . . . Our goal is to restructure the Bundeswehr in such a way that it is best positioned in the event of defence, in the event of war,” said Pistorius. “Nobody should have the idea of attacking Nato territory — this is what we [want to] convey.”The measures are part of a huge shift in Germany’s attitude towards its armed forces, reflecting what Chancellor Olaf Scholz said was a Zeitenwende or turning point in security policy after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.A single operational command will take charge of four new component forces, with cyber warfare raised to an equal footing alongside land, air and sea operations.Military officials drawing up the plans have been given six months to implement them. A key demand from the ministry is that the Bundeswehr will be made ready for compulsory national service in Germany, Pistorius said, should a decision be taken to reintroduce it. The country stopped its mandatory military service — as well as the option to serve in non-military institutions — in 2011.A defence ministry proposal on a model of national service for young adults will be put before German politicians in the coming weeks, he added.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Taiwan ‘learning from Ukraine’ to prepare for attack

Taipei is studying the tactics being employed by the Ukrainian military against Russia in its preparations for a potential attack, the self-governing island’s new vice president, Hsiao Bi-khim, has said.Her comments come as Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has been voicing concerns that Beijing, which sees Taiwan as an inalienable part of its territory, has allegedly outlined the island’s “annexation and the elimination of the Republic of China (Taiwan) as the great rejuvenating cause of its people,” suggesting that the mainland would stop at nothing to take control of the island.Speaking at an event hosted by Chatham House, a British think-tank, in London on Tuesday, Bi-khim insisted that Taiwan must reform and decentralize its military command structure, adding that the government is actively “learning from Ukraine’s defense, where smaller combat forces have proven nimble and adaptable.”The vice president, who was elected last month, further claimed that “authoritarian regimes” were seeking to “influence and destabilize other nations through hybrid operations such as political warfare, cyber-intrusion, economic coercion and the threat of military force.”In light of this supposed threat, Bi-khim stated that the Taiwanese government has already taken a number of steps to boost its ability to react in the event of an attack. These include the doubling of the island’s defense budget, extending mandatory military service from four months to a year, the prioritization of new arms acquisitions, and other measures, some of which have been inspired by Ukraine, she said.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Elizabeth Warren Walks Back Murder Comments

Congressional Democrats broadly denounced the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Friday morning, after Republicans started accusing Sen. Elizabeth Warren of excusing violence.“No one's condoning this,” said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.). “Violence never is the right answer for anything. And it was a horrible murder, a tragic loss for his family.” Warren this week condemned the shooting, but added that people “can be pushed only so far.”"We'll say it over and over," Warren said on MSNBC’S “The ReidOut.” " Violence is never the answer. This guy [Luigi Mangione] gets a trial who's allegedly killed the CEO of UnitedHealth, but you can only push people so far, and then they start to take matters into their own hands."In a statement to POLITICO, Warren said, “Violence is never the answer. Period. I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.” Top Republicans denounced Warren's comments and the walked-back rhetoric, with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) calling it “inappropriate and dangerous.”Some House Democrats asked about the incident on Thursday pivoted the conversation to discuss policy options on health care or gun safety.“I don't really know that this is really a space that Congress normally weighs in on,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). “But at the end of the day, I think it’s an opportunity, because now people are talking about health care and to talk about the fact that this industry has honestly not been as helpful as it could be.”“Violence is never the answer,” said Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.). “We know that there are people suffering, there’s great challenges in healthcare. There's great challenges, and people have, in fact, been wronged, but a process of governance is the way to address that, not violence.”And Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) who denounced the murder, said the killer should be prosecuted and that “I do know that allegedly a ghost gun was used, and we should also ban ghost guns. There's no reason for them beyond the streets.”

▲  1614 replies

 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Israeli Bombings Kill 2,300 In Lebanon in 3 weeks

Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.The Israeli military has ordered people living in more than a quarter of Lebanon to flee, according to a UN calculation, as its fight with the Iran-backed Shia militant group Hizbollah threatens to engulf the Mediterranean country.Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.More than 1mn people have fled their homes in Lebanon in under a month, according to its government, a dramatic forced movement of the population in a country of only about 5mn inhabitants with a land mass smaller than the US state of Connecticut. Israeli forces began a ground offensive in south Lebanon two weeks ago, in their fourth invasion of the country in under five decades. They had already destroyed large parts of the densely populated southern Beirut suburb where Hizbollah had its headquarters, and killed many top militant commanders in air strikes, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah.Rema Jamous Imseis, Middle East director of UNHCR, told journalists in Geneva that “over 25 per cent of [Lebanon is] under a direct Israeli military evacuation order”. “People are heeding these calls to evacuate and they’re fleeing with almost nothing,” she added, saying that 80 per cent of the shelters opened by the Lebanese government — mostly in schools — were now full.

▲  1012 replies

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iSideWith. (2026). “Should every 18 year old citizen be required to provide at least one year of military service?” — Public Opinion Poll Results. Retrieved June 22, 2026, from https://www.isidewith.com/poll/1571898179

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