Last January, the UAE government announced that military service would be obligatory for Emirati men between 18 and 30 years-old inclusive. Service for women would be voluntary. The purported purpose is to encourage love of country and also to ensure that Emiratis know how to defend themselves.

Richard and I think that it’s also part of the grand plan of the government to “encourage” young men to stay in school and complete at least a high school education. When we first arrived I read an article about the government encouraging young men to stay in school as young women were graduating and accordingly less interested in men who didn’t have at least their same level of education. Also the heads of government want Emiratis to actually take an active part in running the businesses in the UAE and need a more highly educated workforce to have this happen.

The news this week gave more specifics. Basic training for young men between the ages of 18 and 30 will start in September. There are three induction/training centers, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Sharjah and then an additional two training centers – one reserved for women. The length of service depends on if they have completed their secondary education – it’s nine months if you have, two years (!) if you haven’t. Women volunteers will be accepted with age, education, marital status and whether they have children taken into consideration. They would only serve the nine months.

Once basic training is completed, then there will technical/education training. Those who excel will be given higher training before placement. Inductees can postpone their military service and can complete their (non-military) schooling if they have a 90% or higher grade average. Only one postponement is permitted, and those who use it must still complete military service later, even if they are over 30.

If they are employed, they will have their jobs held for them and salaries will continue to be paid. If they work in the private sector, the company will pay half of the salary and the government will pay the other half.

Things are not so rosy for draft dodgers – Anyone who does not present himself for service before the age of 30, or who tries to avoid it, faces one month to one year in prison, and/or a fine of Dh10,000 ($2725) to Dh50,000 ($13,615). In both cases military service is required before the sentence is imposed.

Once you have done your military service, you become part of the reserves. They are called up in time of war – until the age of 58!  Members of the Reserves, who do not respond to call-ups during threats of war, face up to 10 years in prison. Ignoring reserve training can also result in a prison term.

There are exemptions for only children, and temporary exemption for a son who is the sole breadwinner for a parent, brothers and sisters or an unmarried sister.

The inductions will be done by groups as yet no designated, as it would be too difficult to put all men in this age range in the army at once – the law is being pushed for approval with all great speed. Once it is officially passed young men are expected to sign-up as quickly as possible.

As far as I know the Emirates Armed Forces is a small group – but there are already women participating. I found this article rather interesting.

http://www.thenational.ae/uae/government/emirati-woman-who-reached-for-the-skies