Retired military and police back compulsory military service for Emirati males

Many said they wished military service had been compulsory when they were young, and said Emiratis could only benefit from the programme.

Cadets from Zayed the second Military College go through their paces on an obstacle course in Al Ain. Retired servicemen have welcomed the proposal of compulsory military training. Philip Cheung / CroShow more

ABU DHABI // Retired army and police officers said the compulsory military training proposed by the Cabinet for young Emiratis cannot come soon enough.

Many said they wished it had been compulsory when they were young, and that Emiratis could only benefit from the enrolment.

The President, Sheikh Khalifa, ordered the Cabinet to draw up a bill for a national defence and reserve force. The bill will go to the Federal National Council before being sent back to the President. It will then have to be published in the official gazette before it is enforced.

“It is a matter of must,” said Brig Gen Ali Al Sayed Ibrahim, the former director of Dubai Civil Defence. “We have to introduce this early on. Each country has its own strategy for defending itself and one of the sources of soldiers is the youth.”

He said he was extremely happy with the news because younger generations would be able to fight for their country, as older generations have in the past.

“I have seven sons and I’m ready to hand them all to the military,” he said. “I would enrol myself if the Armed Forces accepted 60-year-olds.”

Four of his sons are under 18 and will eventually take part in the training.

“This is our country,” said Brig Gen Ibrahim. “Our great-grandfathers protected it and fought for it so all generations should do that for their country.”

He speculated that recruits would be given basic training, which involved handling different types of weapons.

“War is a tough matter so they definitely won’t get an easy training,” he said. “They have to endure and go through war conditions.”

Brig Gen Abdul Rahman bin Abdulaziz, a military officer, said the training would teach younger Emiratis to serve their country.

“This is a small thing they can give back to their country,” he said. “My country has given me everything and national service really encourages us to take care of our nation.”

He said the military had provided him with many perks over the past 30 years.

“They gave me everything,” he said. “Good facilities, good hospitals, schools, you need to secure the future for you and your family and it doesn’t come easy so this is an excellent opportunity for them.”

According to The National’s Arabic-language sister newspaper, Al Ittihad, there are 1,877 Emirati men who work with the Federal Government who are eligible to serve.

Maj Gen Mohammed Khalifa Al Mualla, who was a police officer in Sharjah for 30 years, was enthusiastic.

“I think it’s a marvellous idea,” he said. “It’s great that it happened now and not later. The Emirati population is a small community population so, if you can’t have an army on standby, you can obtain a good number of volunteers in case of need.”

He said although he hoped there would be no need to use them in the future, the training was vital to the country.

“We don’t need to keep a large number of forces on duty,” he said. “But many of them might get some training done in Switzerland and this can help. Although I’m from a police background, I know that there is a tough physical training involved as well as educational classes on arms and combat. It’s an important field.”

Col Obeid bu Afra, a retired military officer, said the project was still under process but he expected general training in weaponry, self-defence and sports activities.

“The project is huge and it is for the good of the country,” he said. “Many men who have not found a job have an open opportunity now to become leaders. They will be fit, healthy and will be able to protect their land and its citizens.”

He also wished the initiative had come sooner. “It’s a project that we wish we had ages ago because this is our nation and we need to be able to protect it.”

* With additional reporting by Ayesha Al Khoori