Recruting A Student Army

Eight out of ten ASFM seniors who entered the lottery were chosen for military service.

An army composed of ASFM high school students is a scary thought. Can you imagine spoiled rich kids defending Mexico against the migrant caravan? Surely this is a recipe for disaster. Have no fear, for most residents of San Pedro have been exempted from completing this civic duty in a systematic fashion.

That is until Sunday, November 11, when eight out of ten ASFM seniors who entered the lottery were chosen for military service. The theoretical probability of being chosen was one out of three. The chances of this being a coincidence are slim. I’m not saying that there’s a wider conspiracy on behalf of the federal government to get sampetrinos into the army, but there is no proof to disprove this theory.

Military service for men has been mandatory since 1942 when WWII threatened the sovereignty of all nations. Being part of the Allies, Mexico sent an air squadron of 300 soldiers, nicknamed las Águilas Aztecas, to fight in the South Pacific. Since then, only the Drug War and the Zapatista uprising in 1994 have required significant army involvement. So why is this still a thing?

Most people who complete this requirement never hold a gun. Instead, they waste their time running around the base and singing the national anthem with the occasional productive community service project.

That being said, everyone’s experience is different. Some cadets are taught army doctrine in classrooms, while others joke around with their commanding officer until their weekly session is over.  This lack of standardization and the absence of any firearms training makes any potential recruit utterly useless as reservists.

If the purpose is really to train people for the outbreak of war, all citizens regardless of gender, race, or religion should be required to serve a more extensive training program that prepares citizens to defend their country should the unthinkable happen.