Military service
Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription).
 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
| Part of a series on |
| War |
|---|
Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a specific amount of military service from every citizen, except for special cases, such as limitation determined by a military physical or religious belief. In the United States, a mental disorder does not necessarily disqualify a recruit so long as no treatment had been given within 36 months.[1][2] Most countries that use conscription systems only conscript men; a few countries also conscript women.[3] For example, Norway, Sweden, North Korea, Israel, and Eritrea conscript both men and women. However, only Norway and Sweden have a gender-neutral conscription system, where men and women are conscripted and serve on equal formal terms.[4] Some nations with conscription systems do not enforce them.
Nations which conscript for military service typically also rely on citizens choosing to join the armed forces as a career.[5]
Some nations with armed forces do not conscript their personnel (e.g. most NATO and European Union states). Instead, they promote military careers to attract and select recruits; see military recruitment.
Some, usually smaller, nations have no armed forces at all or rely on an armed domestic security force (e.g. police, coast guard).
Conscription has been a topic of contention around the world.[6][7][8][9]