[nordsieck]

> You have a bunch of unmotivated people that don't want to be there. You have to house them, feed them, train them for what, 3, 6, 12 months? Seems like a lot of money. How long will that training last for? How soon will you need retraining to be even considered marginally useful? Isn't it better to spend that money on professional soldiers?

It is a lot of money. National defense of some sort is also, mostly necessary for independent countries.

As for why conscription vs professional soldiers, it depends on the threat model. If you're Finland and want to be able to hold off Russia, a professional army isn't going to cut it. Mass mobilization is the only thing that has a chance of working.

Of course, you could always argue that that's what allies are for. But the problem with allies is that they don't always come through when and how you want them to.

[mszcz]

> it depends on the threat model. If you're Finland

Yes, I agree, in cases like this, sure. In general however I think that compulsory training is more wasteful than usual.

> Of course, you could always argue that that's what allies are for. But the problem with allies is that they don't always come through when and how you want them to.

Being Polish that rings true. Also, if every ally in an alliance thinks that…