Definition of Mandatory Military Service

The recruitment of soldiers to be part of the army of a nation it is normally known as military service, which can be voluntary or compulsory. In any of its modalities, its purpose is evident: to guarantee the territorial integrity of a nation and prevent any possible threat internal or external.

Do not forget that all nations have a force military, although this rule has some exceptions: in 1948 the government Costa Rica abolished the army with the intention of promoting the peace in its territory and avoid any possible armed confrontation and in countries like Dominica, Haiti or Iceland there are no armed forces either.

General procedure for compulsory military service

In nations where this modality exists, a procedure is organized annually to recruit future soldiers. Defense ministries summon all young people of military age (usually between 18 and 21 years old) so that from a certain date they report to the recruitment centers of the forces armed.

In most countries, men are called on a compulsory basis, but women can present themselves voluntarily. Citizens who appear at these centers must prove official documentation, usually a birth certificate or a document of

In the recruitment process there are a series of evaluations related to health to exclude those who do not meet certain conditions. Thus, a medical examination is carried out to evaluate the state of health of the soldier candidate, since some medical pathologies are incompatible with military activity. In some cases, those who do not meet the medical requirements are not totally excluded and join the military to perform auxiliary functions. When the soldier has already been integrated into the armed forces, he has to comply with a military oath, through which he agrees to serve his country.

In Spain, military service was compulsory for more than 200 years

In 2001 a real decree whereby compulsory military service was abolished. In this way, service to the homeland became voluntary and since then the Spanish army has been made up of professional soldiers.

The implementation of this obligation began in 1770 during the reign of Carlos III.

From its origins there were all kinds of exemptions. In this sense, it was possible to get rid of the military in many ways: by paying an amount of money, for being the son of a widow, to attend to the needs of the nobles, etc.

Thus a manifest contradiction was produced: the compulsory nature of military service was not the same for everyone. In other words, the poorest did have to render their services to the country and the rich and other social categories had the opportunity not to do so.

In some periods of history there were two types of soldiers: the quota soldier fulfilled a military service of a few months because he paid an amount of money and the rest had to stay in the army for three years.

Fotolia photos: Janjutamas / Hurricanehank