An interview with UAE Staff Pilot Maj. Gen. Sheikh Ahmed bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan
UAE STAFF LT. Col. YOUSEF JUMA AL-HADAD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, NATION SHIELD MAGAZINE
What is national service and what does Law No. (6) of 2014 aim to achieve?
Maj. Gen. Tahnoun: National service in the United Arab Emirates is mandatory for eligible men for a specified time and in accordance with the provisions of the law. As for the objectives of this law, they are many and varied, including social, religious, political, security and economic ones. Examples include, but are not limited to, proper national upbringing of citizens; instillation and inculcation of the values of loyalty, belonging and sacrifice; and linking these national values to the principles of our religion. It aims to create a strong and confident generation that possesses the essentials of personal leadership in terms of discipline, commitment, responsibility, self-reliance, physical strength, respect for the law and appreciation of the value of time; a generation that trusts themselves, their homeland, leaderships and institutions of the nation. This law will be effective in protecting citizens and immunizing them from the risk of being misled by intellectually subversive beliefs and extreme religious currents. It will have a significant role in highlighting the leading role of the Armed Forces and other security institutions in maintaining the security of the homeland and the protection of its accomplishments. The role of conscripts in national service is an extension of the role of these national bodies and institutions.
Who Must Apply for national service and are there exemptions?
Maj. Gen. Tahnoun: National service is mandatory for every male citizen who is 18 years old and not more than 30 years of age. The same conditions apply with respect to female citizens, but the recruitment of females is optional and subject to approval of the guardian. With regard to exemption from national service, there are two types: a final exemption for anyone who proves to be permanently unfit medically based on a decision of the medical committee, and who is the only son of his father or mother, or both of them; and a temporary exemption for a son who is a breadwinner for his father or mother and a long list of other qualifications. It must be emphasized that all the above-mentioned cases of exemption must be proven by official papers issued by competent authorities in the country.
What are the steps to join national service?
Maj. Gen. Tahnoun: Every citizen who is 18 years old but does not exceed 30 at the date when Federal Law No. (6) of 2014 on national and reserve service is in force should visit the competent recruiting authorities, as specified by the General Command of the Armed Forces, within 30 days from the date of notification to determine his position of recruitment in accordance with the provisions of this act and in accordance with the observed rules and procedures. It is scheduled that the National and Reserve Service Committee, in coordination with the relevant units of the Armed Forces, set annually a program specifying the dates of screening recruits who have reached the age of recruitment or are decided to be recruited. Their names will be announced through available means.
What are the benefits and privileges that accrue to the recruits of the national service?
Maj. Gen. Tahnoun: I would like to emphasize that serving the country has not been, and will never be, paid. All citizens assigned to perform national service should be aware that service is a great honor and a sacred national duty in which they repay their country for a fraction of the favors granted them. I agree that there are many privileges and benefits of national service, in the forefront of which are military and security training and exercises that recruits will undergo during the service, which represents an essential source for their development and empowerment, gives them experience and new knowledge, hones their skills and increases their efficiency. We would like to emphasize that all ministries and government departments, public bodies and institutions, and the federal, local and private sector are obliged to preserve posts or jobs for the recruit until the end of the period of national service. The employee will be paid by his employer throughout the duration of national service and will also be provided with medical treatment and expenses in accordance with regulations in force in the agencies where he performs the national service.
What is the duration of national service for males and females, and what programs and exercises does it include?
Maj. Gen. Tahnoun: Males who have academic qualification less than high school will serve two years, whereas those with high school certificate or its equivalent or higher duration will serve 12 months. Females will have a term of service for nine months, regardless of academic qualifications. National service will include training periods, military and security exercises, and religious and national awareness lectures.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Do you consider the period of national service part of general government service?
Maj. Gen. Tahnoun: Yes, the period of national service for recruits who are hired by ministries, government departments, federal and local public bodies and institutions, and the private sector is treated as if it was spent in the service of these entities, and this time is calculated in terms of seniority and planned incremental entitlements.
Is it possible to postpone national service for those who are residing out of the country?
Maj. Gen. Tahnoun: Those abroad who have their names announced must go to the UAE Embassy or military attaché in the country of residence for further action. As for the postponement of the service, it is permissible if he meets deferral conditions contained in Articles (14) and (15) of the act, including if these sons are students of educational institutions outside the state.
Will national service recruits be subject to the same penalties applied to military personnel in the Armed Forces?
Maj. Gen. Tahnoun: Unless provided for otherwise, recruits shall be subject, throughout the duration of the national service, to laws, decrees, regulations, instructions and orders in force in the agency in which they serve and as referred to in the law.
How would you rate the public and national reaction to the passage of the National and Reserve Service Law?
Maj. Gen. Tahnoun: In fact, once announced, the public applauded it and considered it an important strategic move. Young citizens emphasized that they did not need to wait for legislation or a law to give their lives for the redemption of the nation, because the relationship between the UAE citizen and his homeland is a close and well-established one based on trust, appreciation and mutual respect. These responses have had a great impact on our minds, because they have embodied the highest images of popular cohesion and the extraordinary relationship that binds the people with their nation and leadership.
Region adopts national service
Compulsory national service has been a feature of military preparedness for centuries. Even when threats to national security are less than imminent, countries view such service programs as a means to increase national pride and cohesiveness.
And — as Qatari Navy Staff Col. Abdullah Shaheen Al-Dosari noted in a Unipath article about the “youth bulge” in the Middle East — instilling military values helps channel youthful energy in positive directions.
“This period of their lives provides a prime opportunity to mold and shape their personalities and character. It will teach civic responsibility and the value of hard work,” Col. Al-Dosari noted. “Young men will learn critical thinking skills and new technology, and achieve general awareness, enabling them to build and develop their country. The skills they acquire will make them more valuable to employers.”
Regional conscription programs are a hallmark of many regional militaries, including those in Egypt, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Qatar, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan. And even countries like Switzerland that haven’t fought a war for centuries retain national service.
And the Swiss case raises another point about its value: In multiethnic, multireligious societies, conscription can be one of the few ways that young people learn to bond with people different from themselves.
Comments are closed.