Topic about compulsory military service it is reheated. Minister of Defense Bratislav Gasic announced that at the beginning of 2026, the first generation can be expected to serve mandatory military service again.
A few days earlier, the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army Milan Mojsilović he stated that he was The Army of Serbia currently engaged in internal tasks regarding the preparation and arrangement of the environment for military service.
Military service in Serbia, only men would serve for 75 days, of which 60 days were training and 15 days were military exercises. The possibility of voluntary service remains for women, "Blic" reported.
The first group of recruits will include men between the ages of 19 and 27.
The last generation of recruits in Yugoslav People's Army she served 12 months of mandatory military service.
Amendments to the law
In order for military service to become mandatory again, it is necessary to pass a series of legal and by-laws. Gašić expects that a new set of laws on the Serbian Armed Forces will be presented at the autumn session of the Assembly.
"The moment we start working in the Parliament, I hope that the law on the army will also start. It will be sometime in January, March, when we will start with the first generation of soldiers," Gašić told Juronjuz.
He added that due to the introduction of mandatory military service, the Serbian Army has arranged more than 120 rooms and is working on arranging military stations and sections.
How long will military service last?
The length of military service will depend on age and conscientious objection.
"Blic" writes that recruits aged 19 to 27 should be divided into three groups. The youngest recruits who want to serve with weapons will be 75 days in the army. The older ones will most likely serve in the army a little shorter. Those who make a conscientious objection will be in the "civilian army" for a total of 155 days.
It is also known that those who postpone mandatory military service will have to go to the army with or without weapons by the age of 30 at the latest.
"The elderly will go to training centers and we have a plan to work with them a little shorter than those 75 days," said Mojsilović.
The Chief of the General Staff added that the suspension of the employment relationship must be represented in this case and stated that "such a thing is possible in public companies".
"We have an idea to propose to the government that those who have loans and need to be recruited, get a moratorium on repayment for at least those two and a half months," said Mojsilović.
The idea is that when a soldier completes his military service, "he will be in the war deployment in the garrison closest to the place where he comes from".
Military service would end for men at the age of 60, and for women who voluntarily serve their time at the age of 50.
Spinning continues.
The topic of re-compulsory military service, which was suspended in 2011, first appeared and was widely discussed in public in 2017, and then in 2018, when a research was published. Various officials and "experts" expressed their opinions, poured in from empty to empty, and then it all stopped. "Vreme" wrote earlier.
Those "experts", as well as relevant ministers and most of the media, referred to "research" that almost three quarters of Serbia's citizens are in favor of military service. It's just that both the pro-state media and those who were against the government at the time skipped over one important fact - who conducted the research. It was published in 2017 by a non-governmental, and in fact a pro-government organization, some kind of Research Center for Defense and Security, referring to field research conducted on a sample of 1.117 respondents in 11 municipalities and cities in Serbia, and through the organization's website to another 1.382 of them. it said "Time".
In June 2018, Center representative Jasmina Andrić said that 75 percent of female respondents and 77 percent of male respondents were in favor of introducing mandatory military service. It's just that the regime media kept silent about the fact that most of those who were in favor of introducing military service, 79 percent of them, were over 60 years old.
What do young people think?
At the end of last year, another study was published that showed that it is 45 percent of young people are against the introduction of military service, while 44 percent support the idea.
The research was conducted by CESID, and Ivo Čolović from that organization said at the time that it was shown that those who are no longer at risk of being conscripted are much more inclined to introduce conscription for the younger generation.
"However, the opinion of young people is also divided on this issue - 45 percent of them are against the introduction of military service, and 44 percent support it. Those young people who live in urban areas, such as Belgrade and Vojvodina, young people who come from the ranks of national minorities and those who have a higher education are against the introduction of military service," Čolović said at the time.
On the other hand, as he explained, those with high school education, who are currently still in the process of schooling, who come from southern and eastern Serbia, are mostly in favor of introducing military service.
A total of 16 countries in Europe have compulsory military service, but only a minority have a real obligation with potential criminal sanctions for those who do not respond to the summons. Armies generally have a sufficient number of volunteers. Greece has the strictest system, and Sweden and Denmark have the most liberal.
Source: Vreme/Blic
