Alternative_Pear_538 at 2024-03-16 23:08:07+00:00 ID: kv7eh52

You can say you don't want to, and you will have to do some other work for the same time ("militærnægtertjeneste"). The lottery exists as they don't have unlimited space, so even if you do want to go they can't take everybody.

The proposed policy doesn't change this, but of course, the amount of available spaces could easily be altered without any necessary policy changes, making the lottery a guarantee of a spot, if they wanted to do so.

Also, there's no doubt in my mind that they will soon remove the ability to refuse, as they are clearly aiming to get as many soldiers as possible. But that is not part of the current change.

CrateDane at 2024-03-16 23:22:34+00:00 ID: kv7jw2o

My current understanding is that conscription in Denmark is basically voluntary. If you say you don't want to do it, they won't pick you? How exactly does that work if there's a lottery?

People who volunteer take up the empty spots. If there are more volunteers than there are spots, then nobody will be forced to serve, regardless of the lot they draw. But if fewer people volunteer, those with the worst lots will be forced to serve.

The new policy doesn't change that system directly, but the longer period of service and slight increase in number of conscripts will likely change the balance. Probably fewer people will volunteer for an 11 month period than for the current 4 month period, and since they're simultaneously slightly increasing the number that will serve, it's quite likely some will end up being forced to serve.

theKrissam at 2024-03-16 23:12:37+00:00 ID: kv7f52r

Essentially, there's a lottery and the result can be either "you're getting called in", "you might get called in" or "you won't be called in"

When I was called in it was around 22/22/56 split but it changes on a yearly basis.

IN-DI-SKU-TA-BELT at 2024-03-17 09:18:05+00:00 ID: kvbjthx

If you say you don't want to do it, they won't pick you?

Here's how it worked for me:

I picked a really low number, the military person said that I'm almost guaranteed in with my low number but if I wanted a choice of where and when I wanted to serve I could pick which base to do my service at.

And then I was noted down as a "voluntary" because I did pick a base, and then the military releases stats saying they aren't forcing anyone anymore.

Mindshitstorm at 2024-03-16 23:08:07+00:00 ID: kv99mvo

You can choose in what military branch you want to serve your conscription time, like the navy, airforce or the normal military, but you can also choose to serve in Beredskabsstyrelsen (Civil defence). Right now that is 9 months and i haven’t seen if that is getting changed. Beredskabsstyrelsen helps with large fires, flooding, chemical and other larger disasters. So if you do not want to go in the military and handle guns, you can choose this instead if you are forced in the lottery.

sp668 at 2024-03-17 08:55:33+00:00 ID: kv9bf3a

As long as the training capacity of the armed forces isn't a lot larger it's still going to be basically voluntary.

There's been too many volunteers compared to the need and capacity for educating them for a long time, even before the steepest cutbacks not many people were forced.

So unless we go back to having several divisions of infantry like in the cold war there's likely not going to be a need to force anyone. Or maybe if we go towards having a huge reserve force like eg. the Finns have. Then maybe it's going to happen but I've not seen anything like that yet. There's been talk of fielding a brigade soon, and that's honestly not much.

Also if all the new money is going to be used to improve conditions and actually make being a soldier a decent job I don't think we're going to run out of volunteers.