Жолбов. Английский билеты. 4-5 курс / A professional army versus a conscript army

A professional army versus a conscript army.

Army, a large body of men (and sometimes women) trained and armed for land warfare. Today, all developed nations maintain armies with large numbers of tanks, armored personnel carriers, helicopters, and even ships. The less developed nations that cannot afford to have advanced weapons often have to depend on specially trained light infantry, small ground attack aircraft, and armored cars.

Switzerland, does not maintain a standing army of professional soldiers as it has very less potential enemies. Instead it has opted for a large national militia of men who can be called into service during crisis situation. France, the United Kingdom, and the United States have extensive foreign commitments and hence, require a huge standing army to meet their international needs.

There are differences in the way countries raise and maintain their army. While some use a military draft, others have universal military service, which necessitates that all qualified men and women in a certain age range serve. There are also some nations that have an entirely volunteer army. In present times, women are included in almost all armies.

Armies are divided into regular army and an army reserve by most of the nations. The professional soldiers constitute the regular army and receive regular training and are always on active duty and ready for combat. It is not affordable for nations to maintain a regular army large enough to meet any crisis. A large amount of army reserve is even maintained by those nations that mostly rely on regular forces. This reserve is also called a national guard or militia and trains citizens for immediate active duty in an emergency.

Most countries not only maintain permanent armies but require all their young men to do a period of compulsory military service. It is said that it would be better to abandon peace-time conscription. In the old days, large armies were essential. In these days of inter-continental ballistic missiles, of push-button warfare and escalation, unskilled manpower has become redundant. There are also pressing personal reasons to abolish conscription. It is most unpleasant in times of peace for young men to grow up with the threat of military service looming over their heads. their careers and studies are disrupted and sometimes the whole course of their lives is altered. They spend at least two years in the armed forces engaged in activities which do not provide them with any useful experience with regard to their future work.

Some people argue that military service ‘does you good’ but conditions of serving in this country are awful that’s why young men usually try to avoid conscription.