A young Finnish man at the central railway station in Helsinki (Helsingin rautatieasema) coming from or going to his military duty. Finland practices universal male conscription where "All men above 18 years of age are liable to serve either six, nine or twelve months..." (from Wikipedia).
In the Philippines, we have a professional armed forces system where men and women get to be employed full time. There was a four-semester mandatory Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) training for all male university students until the early 2000s. Students- both male and female- can still choose to undergo ROTC but emphasis is now placed more on the National Service Training Program whereby they have to participate in seemingly more benign but nonetheless essential community service work, eg volunteering in hospitals, becoming teacher aides in pre-schools, helping in village clean-up drives, among others.
Helsinki, August 2007, using a digicam.
That's a great capture.
ReplyDeleteNice shot. I like that service in the Philippines is biased towards social prgrrammes rather than the military, Happy weekend
ReplyDeleteYoung men doing mandatory military service. Have seen quite a few in many countries (including Singapore and South Korea). Never thought to take a photo like yours though! ;b
ReplyDeleteYes, why not show the military on the move at a railway station. A very modern view.
ReplyDeleteMy take is more historical and personal, from a cemetary in West Virginia where many of the graves are from the Civil War.
Happy Weekend
Anna
In Singapore the males have to go through 2 years of compulsory National Service. My younger son is in the middle of doing his duty , in the Civil Defence ( think Firemen, paramedic,disaster rescue unit)
ReplyDeleteNice take for this week's theme.
ReplyDeleteMine is up
It sounded just like our National Service Program here. Good sharing Ian :)
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What a fitting entry.
ReplyDeleteAs for me I trained in CAT :D
I wonder which one works better, the mandatory service or the voluntary thing. Happy Weekend!
ReplyDeletei have the same question as Marites. it would probably cost taxpayers more if our armed forces is mandatory.
ReplyDeleteA great photo....this week's theme is going to be all so very moving.
ReplyDeleteOne of MY favorite Veterans is on my post this week. Come see him if you have some time.
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Ooorah!
the same rules apply in the Korean culture here..
ReplyDeleteCheck out my husband's 20 years in the navy. Have a great weekend!
its good to look back of what our heroes have done to defend and liberate us.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at my HERO
Fortunately there is no obligatory military service anymore in Italy, Germany and Belgium (the other countries I don't know. When I think that over seventy million people, the majority civilians, were killed, I hate everything military.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great use of the military. Pray it will always be of such service to the community.
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ReplyDeletehttp://asthecrackerheadcrumbles.blogspot.com/2009/11/sites-to-see_13.html