Tony Watts OBE wonders why so many older people apparently think it’s a good idea for youngsters to do National Service.

Like most people of my generation who managed to miss out on National Service by a decade, I spent my late teenage years growing my hair.

It was, if I may say so, a splendid sight. Festoons of bushy auburn curls which went a long way down my back and quite a long way horizontally too… not dissimilar to the aftermath of dynamiting a horsehair sofa as I was once told.

Naturally, this – plus my taste for shaggy Afghan coats, flared trousers and stack heels – drew more than the odd comment from older people who obviously had enough time on their hands to form and then articulate an opinion: “Get your hair cut”, “You look like a girl,” and “You need a dose of National Service, my lad” were three of the more polite pieces of advice I would receive as I went about my business.

I was reminded of this reading the headline today that 74% of pensioners believe that they should bring back National Service – and make it compulsory for youngsters.

Perhaps that’s because a large chunk of today’s pensioners never actually DID National Service. It was phased out from 1960, so you’d need have to been born around 1940 or earlier to have been called up.

I remember my older brother talking about it as a time of great boredom – mostly polishing boots, whitewashing coal, peeling spuds, learning how to make your bed and doing parades. But at least he didn’t actually go overseas to one of the places where our soldiers were being shot at by people who had a bit of a grudge against us for a variety of reasons, so that was probably the lesser of two evils.

I have to say, I’m one of the 26% of pensioners who think this is a bit of a knee jerk reaction. I’ve got five children, all of whom spent the years between 18 and 21 studying hard at University before starting a career. Taking two years out of their lives to parade up and down and polish boots (or whatever the modern equivalent might be) would be two more years before they could start working and trying to pay down their humungous student loans.

I also question whether learning how to fire rifles and shin over high walls are transferrable skills I want all our young people to acquire.

There is also the question of equality between the sexes. You could not now introduce National Service for young men without doing the same for young ladies. That’s an awful lot of people to house, feed, clothe and train for two years. Do we have that sort of spare money sloshing about in the Treasury?

And what would you do with all these conscripts anyway? Modern warfare is a highly skilled business, relying on smart bombs and automatic rifles. Would you want a conscript let loose with one of those? Peacekeeping can be just as dangerous, with suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices commonplace.

Then there’s the aftermath. We already have huge numbers of people who have seen military service in recent years suffering from PTSD because they weren’t equipped to deal with the incredibly dangerous and traumatic situations in which they’ve found themselves. And they’re professionals.

Yes, you could find community tasks for some rather than military ones – but is that worth taking out two years of someone’s life?

I think the deeper-rooted problem is the generation gap. Many older people look at youngsters today and assume they’re feckless, disrespectful and wearing clothes and sporting hairstyles they would never have been seen dead in, listening to music they don’t like and using slang they can’t comprehend.

Not a million miles from how I and many of my generation were viewed by the older people of my day.

But within a couple of years I had cast off my Afghan, shorn my locks and was settling down to a lifetime of work. I suspect that’s just what is going to happen to today’s youngsters too.

And, finally, remember that you can find out exactly how much you can comfortably afford to spend for each year of your retirement using RetireEasy’s LifePlan, as well as try out different scenarios for your future by subscribing to LifePlan Premium.  It can also tell you whether you have the resources in place to be able to afford to retire at your chosen time…