h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, I'm off to play with little abstract soldiers on an eight-by-eight board. I should say that I'm Julzes. I just decided to go with what I'm used to being called in person by friends. I'll sign off with

Good account, Bel. What I like best is that you consider the loss of coffee a disaster. I'd think the same.

I don't really approve of armies, but we in Ireland have always been in the enviable position of having the Brits in front of us to protect us from everyone else, so I can't really talk. A spell obeying orders will teach your son the ability to do what he's told when it's important and to recognise when it's not.

the brits in front??????

when i was in cyprus i used to drink with irish army lads on leave/R+R from UN postings in the middle east, they were further forward than us

No ?

No socks??

And Intercontinentals too!


Glad you were able to attend. And you got to bring son #1 home for a while too


lil xx

Bel??????

the conscription now, is it unisex or just male???

yes, it's only male and as such sexistic plus it's an ancient nazi ritual

do i have to say more?

would love to see national service return here in the UK

DAN DAN DAAAAHHHH!!!!

YOU SPILLED YOUR COFFEE???

Shocking! If you were going to do that, you should have brought tea! You could have used the remains of the tea later to pour over your socks to keep your feet warm!

And speaking as a son (albeit one who hasn't had to do National Service), know that it is a wonderful thing to have a mother who will listen to you when you come home. You are probably more important than you realise, Bel!

you now have another tool at your disposal

when you want son to do stuff quickly

shout

schnell....eins, sfowe, dry, sphere, eins, sfowe, dry, sphere, eins, sfowe, dry, sphere

and watch him move(excuse spellings)

It sounds like you being there was very important to him, B'el. Well done for having made the effort (and the loss of coffee!). It will likely be one of those things that sticks with him forever.

Thanks all.

Vip, I only went there because I realised how important it was for him. I couldn't care less about the army.

It was funny, in their speeches they kept pointing out that our presence (all the families who had come) demonstrated our closeness to and acceptance of the Bundeswehr. It made me grin. I have no idea how many people actually care about the army. They're more a nuisance (and after the recent happenings in Afghanistan even an embarrassment and a scandal) than anything else.

Many people think that they should end the conscription and do with volunteers like most other countries do. Conscription is being discussed very controversially, so now they're going to shorten it from nine to six months as of 2011 (I think).

Pierce, I don't know how it was during Hitler times, but this certainly wasn't anything to do with that. Many professions here have to swear an oath in some form, the doctors the oath of Hippocrates, the police has to do one, as have the teachers or anybody working for government. Just because something was done by Hitler doesn't necessarily mean it hadn't been done long before Hitler, or isn't done in a similar form in many other countries.

The oath as such was a very brief affair: somebody spoke the words: we swear we'll fight for the rights and the freedom of the country and all the companies said: we swear. That was all. You can hardly find anything Nazi in that.

It may have been different when they used to hold these events in public places, making a big affair of them. I've never attended one, but I know there were always protests.

Nowadays, you won't even know if you're not invited.

If he wants to learn some precision drill manoeuvres, then I recommend this UK Armed Forces training video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25Qhbdijv5Y

Sounds, to me B'el, as if you had a very adventurous day. It was obviously very important, for him, to have his family there. Best wishes to you, hubby and sons. Sorry I can't give you any more tours of the BBC. Sorry I'm not on h2g2 very often, either. But you and allthe rest, lill and every one, are still in my thoughts.

Hi LW! Long time no see

Hope you are keeping well!

Icy

We've had an LW sighting!!

Wonderful!!

It's good that your son can talk to you frankly.
I believe we have two halves of the "Baby Boom" generation here. The first half, who upon turning 18 were drafted to Vietman (or their brothers and boyfriends); and the second half, to which I belong, who at 18 breathed a prayer of thanks that it was all over. We ended registration along with the draft after that, though registration was eventually reinstated after things had settled a bit.
One of my cousins from a very sheltering home learned to drink and take drugs during his basic training and had trouble for the rest of his life. (He was only in Vietnam for a few weeks).
I'm sure the environment your son is in must be more healthy, however absurd things may get.

<>

Living in a town with 3 or 4 training barracks, we have these swearing-in ceremonies at least once a year. I've never seen any protests. The Army is one of the biggest employers in this town and the recruits a significant part of the town's economy (there are ALWAYS a small group of them in front of me in the checkout queue at the supermarket!)

To answer some people's questions: Conscription in Germany is only for boys, but they have a choice of Military or Community service. My two oldest did Community Service (without these guys there would hardly be any ambulance drivers, old people's homes would collapse and many other services would just not function) and the third one, being a third one, didn't have to do anything. After the war, with so many families left without a son to carry on the name and the family business, it was decreed that the third son should not be sent to do military service.

Girls can now join the German Army, and some do, but they are then signed-up soldiers, sailors or airpersons.

B'El, I'm pleased you all had a good day... Just that it didn't go totally smoothly.

I guess that is the fun (?) of long journeys, especially where a timetable is concerned. Glad you all made it there and back safely.

On the matter of National Service my Dad did his in the Ordinance Corps for two years and has always maintained it was the best thing that ever happened to him. Straightened him out, so to speak. He also learnt to drive. He was able to visit Japan while based in Korea and made friends with a number of U.S. Air Force personnel. One Family we met on a number of occassions when they were based here for two years. It also inspired him into Btw, if it hadn't been for National Service I wouldn't be here (I know some would call that a blessing! ) as my Mum was the only person who wrote to him regularly, although he was 'Sparking' someone else at that time!

Is it a good idea? For some but not all. I had been involved in one form of Scouting or another, including the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, throughout my Teens so, I'd have probably flowed into it. Hard to say, really.

Wish you all, all the best... .

MMF

I don't think Irish people would make good soldiers. As a race, we _really_ don't like being told what to do.

That's the main reason we voted No in the first Lisbon Treaty Referendum. All the politicians told us to vote yes, without explaining why.

Great youtube link.

>>Living in a town with 3 or 4 training barracks, we have these swearing-in ceremonies at least once a year. I've never seen any protests. The Army is one of the biggest employers in this town and the recruits a significant part of the town's economy (there are ALWAYS a small group of them in front of me in the checkout queue at the supermarket!)>>

Tc, I've been told that the towns which have barracks are quite content to have them for the reasons you mention.

I remember, though, that there used to be protests - by anti-war-campaigners - about the huge swearing-in-ceremonies the army used to do.

see: http://www.google.de/#hl=de&source=hp&q=vereidigung+%2B+protest&btnG=Google-Suche&meta=&aq=f&oq=vereidigung+%2B+protest&fp=41009b97746995a

I think that is the reason why they are public, but not publicised. You'll only know if you live in the area or are involved in some aspect. If we hadn't had a detailed map, we'd never have found either of the barracks. We drove through the whole of Dillingen without a single sign post mentioning them. The only one was directly in front of the barracks. Same in the next town. At the first barracks, nobody was able to tell us where exactly the swearing-in-ceremony would be held. We drove to the barracks in the next town, and directly there, there was a tiny sign post hand-made) saying: 'Gelöbnis' with an arrow indicating the direction.