Q&A: Refusing Reserve Duty
Refusing Reserve Duty
Question
I’d like to consult with you. I’m supposed to begin two very demanding courses in the Open University summer semester, and last Friday I got called up for reserve duty. If I stay in reserve duty until then (for now we have an open-ended order), it’ll be hard for me to manage both.
Up to now I’ve reported for every reserve-duty call-up, but this time I don’t think I’ll be able to combine them. Postponing these courses will hurt the continuation of my studies. Of course, the manpower is limited, and if I leave I’ll somewhat weaken the force, and leaving in the middle of reserve duty is itself a bit improper. On the other hand, studies too (in a scientific field) are important for the state, and knowing that I’ll be going back to reserve duty again later in life, would it be right to focus on my studies? Or should I stay until the end of the reserve duty even at the cost of harming my course grades / postponing them until next year and disrupting the next academic year?
Thank you very much.
Answer
This is a very difficult question, and I don’t think it has one general answer at all. But given that the state/the army casually exempts so many people from military service, it isn’t right to pay such a heavy price in order to serve. In my view, in such a situation it is justified not to give in. In my view it is also justified to refuse altogether.
Discussion on Answer
What about the categorical imperative? (Sorry about the typo.)
No, the state would not collapse. On the contrary, if everyone acted that way, the government would understand that it cannot go on exempting so many young people from enlistment.
Everyone, women and men alike, needs to enlist. We need to create a situation in which there are no excuses for any group (for example, separate battalions: one for women, one for men, and one mixed), or at least what’s called “escorting the thief to the door of the house,” so that everyone can see these are only excuses. In my opinion, military bands, Army Radio, outstanding-athlete tracks, all the unnecessary jobs in the Kirya, should be stopped. Non-combat support roles are important; a cook is important; a cook in Lebanon is combat in every respect. The fact that pensions for career military personnel run until age 45 is not okay—that’s a group that took care of itself. In general, the fact that for women the pension goes until 62 shows that there isn’t real equality, and if you say that it goes according to life expectancy, then statistically women have more.
If everyone acted that way, the state would collapse…
What about the categorical imperative?