200,000 young people will receive the Conscription Letter this week. It states that they can be called up if war threatens. In addition, the Ministry of Defense draws attention to the so-called service year for the first time in the letter. “We want to strengthen the bond between defense and society.”
The letter will be delivered this week to all young people who are 17, or will turn 17 this year. The Conscription Letter is sent every year to this age group. Anyone between the ages of 17 and 45 can be called up for military service. When that happens, people are tested first. Only if they are found suitable are they actually called up for military service.
Members of the royal family also receive such a letter. This year, Princess Ariane will get it. Earlier, her sisters Princess Amalia and Princess Alexia received the letter.
That year
In the letter, outgoing Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren draws attention to the year of service. “The service year offers the opportunity to serve as a full-fledged soldier for a year. Participants receive ten weeks of training and a salary,” said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense. For example, a service year can be chosen after secondary school as a gap year, after further education or, for example, when people take a sabbatical from work.
The knife cuts both ways with the service year, says a spokesperson: “Participants work on themselves. For example, they develop leadership qualities.” It is also useful for defense, among other things to reduce personnel shortages. “Through the service year, people get to know defense. Then they can choose to stay. If they don’t, they become ambassadors in society. In this way we want to strengthen the bond between defense and society.”
The first year of service started in September last year, with 221 people participating. Defense wants a thousand people to participate in the service year next year. The organization needs many new employees, around five thousand annually, according to a spokesperson.
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