Britboy
04-13-2008, 08:17 PM
On another thread, I managed to find out about the Nahal, the Israeli Fighting Pioneer Youth who combine their 3yrs service with volunteer work: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahal
I also remember reading about the Rhodesians during their Bush War, they did have permanent soldiers, but many of their troops did 6 weeks on and 6 weeks off (I think!) so that they had access to the manpower they needed for operations, but the troops had enough time away from duties to go back to their jobs, keep the economy going, and could sustain this rate for years without burnout. - I suppose this allows for more protracted, less intense conflicts to be fought without ruining the economy - I remember hearing that when Israel fully mobilised on one occasion (1967?) it was a number of weeks before hostilities began and of course there was talk of demobilising partially to keep the economy going.
Historically, I know the Zulu Royal Family demanded that every male serve in their Army before he be allowed to settle down and marry, thereby ensuring a large pool of manpower for them.
I'm also interested in countries which have conscription/national service for a short period, thereby giving large numbers of troops that can be called upon in a national crisis, like the Finns and Swedes. I understand that the Finns can undertake civilian service rather than only military, and that Swedish warships are manned by conscript-reservists too - odd as you think of it as a mainly Army technique...
There are of course the more usual methods of raising forces like having a volunteer Reserve like the Territorial Army, Army Reserve and National Guard (although the NG comes under state authority?), and keeping discharged ex-regulars on a reserve list for potential call up in a national emergency (not sure about training liability though).
There are a lot of historic distinctions between different types of Reserves in the UK, I think the RAF and RN & RM Reserves are pretty straightforward, but the Army's ones were termed Militia, Volunteers, Yeomany and so on, and each one was a separate organisation.
There were battalions of the British Army raised in Northern Ireland for service there only in the past. And in Britain its possible for young people to try for a Gap Year Commission that is done between sixth form and university, in order to give them an insight into life as an officer.
And we all have heard of the Gurkhas in British, Indian and Singaporean service, and of course the French Foreign Legion, which nowadays apparently has a higher proportion of Frenchmen than you might think.
So what unusual schemes of military recruitment/conscription/employment have you heard of? On what scheme does your own country base its forces and its troops?
Over to you...
BB
I also remember reading about the Rhodesians during their Bush War, they did have permanent soldiers, but many of their troops did 6 weeks on and 6 weeks off (I think!) so that they had access to the manpower they needed for operations, but the troops had enough time away from duties to go back to their jobs, keep the economy going, and could sustain this rate for years without burnout. - I suppose this allows for more protracted, less intense conflicts to be fought without ruining the economy - I remember hearing that when Israel fully mobilised on one occasion (1967?) it was a number of weeks before hostilities began and of course there was talk of demobilising partially to keep the economy going.
Historically, I know the Zulu Royal Family demanded that every male serve in their Army before he be allowed to settle down and marry, thereby ensuring a large pool of manpower for them.
I'm also interested in countries which have conscription/national service for a short period, thereby giving large numbers of troops that can be called upon in a national crisis, like the Finns and Swedes. I understand that the Finns can undertake civilian service rather than only military, and that Swedish warships are manned by conscript-reservists too - odd as you think of it as a mainly Army technique...
There are of course the more usual methods of raising forces like having a volunteer Reserve like the Territorial Army, Army Reserve and National Guard (although the NG comes under state authority?), and keeping discharged ex-regulars on a reserve list for potential call up in a national emergency (not sure about training liability though).
There are a lot of historic distinctions between different types of Reserves in the UK, I think the RAF and RN & RM Reserves are pretty straightforward, but the Army's ones were termed Militia, Volunteers, Yeomany and so on, and each one was a separate organisation.
There were battalions of the British Army raised in Northern Ireland for service there only in the past. And in Britain its possible for young people to try for a Gap Year Commission that is done between sixth form and university, in order to give them an insight into life as an officer.
And we all have heard of the Gurkhas in British, Indian and Singaporean service, and of course the French Foreign Legion, which nowadays apparently has a higher proportion of Frenchmen than you might think.
So what unusual schemes of military recruitment/conscription/employment have you heard of? On what scheme does your own country base its forces and its troops?
Over to you...
BB