> I am not Swiss so my opinion might not matter to you but I would say that there are many skills that are taught with military service that help out in other c

> I am not Swiss so my opinion might not matter to you but I would say that there are many skills that are taught with military service that help out in other circumstances. Being Swiss, and having served in the army, I have a less optimistic view of its value. In particular, the professional officers it attracted tended to be mediocre at best. > Organization, mindfulness Armies in general have poor cost control, and an army at perpetual peace has even fewer repercussions to fear, so there is virtually no accountability. Your workforce can't quit because it's drafted, parliament sometimes gives you a higher budget than you asked for, because reasons, and you perennially plan for fictional wars that thankfully you never have to fight. > and the ability to give and receive orders. It's easy to give orders if your workforce can't quit and goes to prison if they don't follow the orders. > What is wrong with having something that is common across generations and backgrounds that allows people to connect with each other? This aspect, that (mostly) men of all backgrounds served together, was maybe the one positive thing about the army. But nowadays, a smaller part of each generation serves, so that seems to go away as well. And it should be possible to implement a common service for other purposes than an army.