UAE national service law does not mean country is under threat, says military official

Maj Gen Matar Al Dhaheri, chief of administration and manpower at the Armed Forces General Command, stressed that the Emirati community was considered a strategic asset of the Armed Forces.

The Armed Forces in a military drill at the International Defence Exhibition at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre last year. Karim Sahib / AFP

Maj Gen Matar Al Dhaheri, chief of administration and manpower at the Armed Forces General Command, said that the introduction of the national service law did not mean that the country was under threat, and he stressed that the Emirati community was considered a strategic asset of the Armed Forces.

In an interview with Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister newspaper of The National, Maj Gen Al Daheri also said registration camps for national service would be introduced at the beginning of next year.

He said that the second batch of recruits under 30 years old would begin their service at the start of January. Only students, unemployed recruits and craftsmen would be paid. The amount of remuneration would be determined at a later date in accordance with the related regulations.

The process was called National and Reserve Service rather than mandatory or compulsory service, he said, to indicate that it was meant to engage all members of Emirati society in serving their homeland. There was no legal ground to deny any Emiratis from serving their country.

Maj Gen Al Dhaheri said one of the main objectives of the national service law was to empower young Emirati leaders who could be capable of shouldering responsibilities in support of the Armed Forces.

He said 9,247 people had so far registered for service. The number of recruits due to begin their service would be announced soon.

He added that, on average, the registration offices processed 400 applications per day.

The introduction of the law did not signify that more troops were needed. It was to ensure that citizens were aware of their responsibilities. At the same time, training recruits raised the Armed Forces’ responsibility towards them.

The national service law had been under review for years, he said, even when Sheikh Zayed was alive. It was issued only after a thorough review, he said.

Officials in charge of developing the law visited several countries to take stock of other nations’ experiences and to become acquainted with the best practices.

He said an alternative service was available for those unable to physically perform military service, allowing all of the country’s youth to serve in some capacity.

Among the benefits of service were discipline, order, punctuality and selflessness, he said.

Maj Gen Al Dhaheri said the first batch of recruits to enlist for national service were chosen from the 18-year-old category because this was a character-forming age.

Young men would have just finished their high-school studies and would be preparing to begin their university life.

Some exceptions had been made for those in specialised education that required many years of study, such as medicine.

As for female recruits, Maj Gen Al Dhaheri said some camps had been established strictly for women.

They would be managed, supervised and trained by women with traditions and customs of Emirati society observed in the creation of the facilities and the training programmes.

Female recruits would be grouped in the camps according to age.