Conscription next?

As the European political leaders posture and make bellicose remarks about “defending Ukraine” against Russia, we need to ask the question if conscription is on the radar and how might Generation Z respond to it!

Recently I reported how a former senior British officer in NATO had urged the UK to resume conscription now or risk being powerless in a clash against Vladimir Putin's Russia. Sir Richard Shirreff, who served as NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR), said the only way the Russian leader can be stopped is if Europe bolsters its defence and creates an effective deterrence. The retired general claimed that Britain should look to launch "selective conscription" to help get the public ready for war.

"The government should rule nothing out at the moment. I can’t see how an army of just 70,000 is going to be able to deter Russia in the long term and maintain the mass it needs.

Now, you might think Shirreff is a predictable warmonger given his NATO background BUT a member of the Defence Select Committee has echoed this call to conscript. Mike Martin, an Afghanistan veteran and the MP for Tunbridge Wells, has said;

"There’s a significant chance that it [war with Russia] might happen so we must be prepared. Obviously, if we get involved in a general war with Russia, we’ll be conscripting the population - there’s no question about that,"

"Being prepared generates deterrence, which decreases the likelihood [of war]. The whole point about building the military up is it decreases the likelihood of this happening. I think that’s an important caveat. I’ve fought in wars, I’m not a warmonger. But I recognise that you’ve got to [pursue] peace through strength."

It’s a common theme and it’s not JUST in the UK!

Across the Channel, French President Macron has also been discussing the topic. On Saturday he ruled out bringing back mandatory military service but said he wanted to mobilise society in the face of Russian aggression and would make an announcement in the coming weeks.

Speaking to regional newspapers in comments recorded Friday and published Saturday, Macron said the return of compulsory military service was “not a realistic option.” He said France no longer had the “logistics” to reintroduce conscription, which ended in 2001. “We are going to look at ways to mobilise civilians,” Macron told the regional press, adding that he wanted to consolidate the “mobilisation of society in the face of crises.”

What does “mobilise civilians” mean, exactly? It seems to me that Macron, like Starmer, has a depleted Military run down over decades, and so requires additional bodies.

Given that the average age of new recruits into the UK army is around 20 to 21 years for infantry roles it will be those born around 2000 that will be invited into the Armed Forces. So Generation Z could find itself as the “boots on the ground” in Ukraine facing hypersonic obliteration. Recently a new study revealed a deep generational divide in Britain, with half of Gen Z believing the country is racist and just 11 per cent saying they would be willing to fight for it in a war. The 11% may get their wish.

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