Fascinating. Bizarrely I find myself agreeing with your conscription position, but I wondered if that could be tempered by ensuring conscripts were only ever front line committed to homeland defence. Would that work? Having most of the adult population knowing how to do soldiering and perhaps trained in insurgency would be a fair deterrent to future threats from hostile neighbours. All your summaries do make me slightly anxious about the UK’s ability to defend itself from overt aggression!
> I wondered if that could be tempered by ensuring conscripts were only ever front line committed to homeland defence
The way I would do it is say that soldiers only have to fight in defensive operations where we or our allies have been attacked, and that service in other operations would be voluntary.
> Having most of the adult population knowing how to do soldiering and perhaps trained in insurgency would be a fair deterrent to future threats from hostile neighbours.
> All your summaries do make me slightly anxious about the UK’s ability to defend itself from overt aggression!
I don't think the Westminster ruling class are particularly competent at running the country, in military matters or in anything else. Sometimes I wonder if they are even trying.
Fascinating. Bizarrely I find myself agreeing with your conscription position, but I wondered if that could be tempered by ensuring conscripts were only ever front line committed to homeland defence. Would that work? Having most of the adult population knowing how to do soldiering and perhaps trained in insurgency would be a fair deterrent to future threats from hostile neighbours. All your summaries do make me slightly anxious about the UK’s ability to defend itself from overt aggression!
> I wondered if that could be tempered by ensuring conscripts were only ever front line committed to homeland defence
The way I would do it is say that soldiers only have to fight in defensive operations where we or our allies have been attacked, and that service in other operations would be voluntary.
> Having most of the adult population knowing how to do soldiering and perhaps trained in insurgency would be a fair deterrent to future threats from hostile neighbours.
Estonia is training its people for guerilla war against Russia <https://pontifex.substack.com/p/links-2-scottish-wildcats-and-mountain> and it would be really good if Scottish soldiers trained with them.
> All your summaries do make me slightly anxious about the UK’s ability to defend itself from overt aggression!
I don't think the Westminster ruling class are particularly competent at running the country, in military matters or in anything else. Sometimes I wonder if they are even trying.