“There are no political conditions” to return to Mandatory Military Service

The Minister of National Defense admitted that “today there are no political conditions” to re-impose the Mandatory Military Service (SMO), suggesting that young people who opt for the Armed Forces have better conditions for entering university or public service.

At a conference dinner at the 13th edition of Universidade Europa, a PSD political training initiative, Nuno Melo also defended that military service could be an alternative for young people who commit petty crimes instead of being placed in institutions that, “mostly stop the cases, they only work as a school of crime for life”.

“How many of these young people who, instead of being institutionalized without any conditions, could carry out military service, have the opportunity to exercise training, authority, values, could not later be much better citizens and they simply were not given this opportunity?” he asked.

Both in his initial intervention and in answering questions from the “students” of this political training initiative, the Minister of Defense rejected the return of mandatory military service.

“We do not need a Mandatory Military Service, there are not even political conditions at the moment to impose an SMO. But there is a set of possibilities that go through situations already experienced in other countries, such as Sweden”, he said.

Nuno Melo exemplified that “one year of voluntary military experience” which, in the end, could give young people “more ease in entering a university” or in “integrating the public service in certain areas” could be “a way” for those who would like of military life end up signing a contract with the Armed Forces.

“We have to create conditions so that young people can have this option, which has to be attractive and we will try to do so”, he stated, appealing to the approximately 70 young people present at Universidade Europa to “try this experience”.

“Help show an entire country that the Armed Forces are not a thing of the past, but our identity. I guarantee that many of you would like it”, he reinforced.