The army is planning to send the recruited youths to training units as the first batch of the plan after the implementation of the conscription law. Also on television, young people who are forcely brought are welcomed by playing the drums and the gun salute by the battalions from various military headquarters. So, what is the true attitude of the military towards the youth? Do they really care about young people?
So what’s the difference between them and us in joining the army? When we joined the army, young people who had just finished 10th grade came in various forms to join the army. The school I attended was (MCTI) in Ho Pong City. A day after arriving at the camp, we have to hand over the IDs and forbidden items to those responsible. Then according to the regional military headquarters, they separated the young people.
From that time, the young people who did not want to join the army were labeled as “demoralized”. They are young people who are not yet 18 years old. So,all of them do what they ask as they can’t let them name demoralized. From that time on, we started the habit of asking “I don’t want water broken bottle …I just want water.”
During the 4 months basic military training, military demonstrations, small arms, etc. were taught. Until then, it’s still fine. When the time came to teach literature, being bullied after bullied becomes everyday.As a first-year student, I was afraid of a second-year student for various reasons. As soon as one of the first year boy replied to the senior with a stern face, the whole company, the whole regiment was hit by the elders(one for all system). Like the video of trainees punching each other that spread on social mediain 2006. There are still more or less trainees who died without anyone know.
Therefore, why do they make the young people feel comfortable who are called with the current military service law, because they are the ones who will die for the generals. Generals have a habit, they makes them happy as much as possible who will put their lives and interests ahead of them.
For instance, when I was serving in the Meikhtila Air Force, the headquarters commander is General Soe Aung. Usually, when the generals communicate with the lower-ranking comrades, they mainly use “you…we…”(disrespectful words). For military parade, various armies, including Taungoo Air Force, gathered at the Meikhtila Air Force Base. Within a month of their arrival, a Taungoo Air Force soldier started teasing each other with a stolen hand grenade while drunk. Since it was a grenade, they panicked and reported it to the headquarters commander.
The administrative commanders, including the headquarters commander, who always talk to the lower ranks with rude words, said, “Sirs, please explain this, this grenade issue is important,” etc., because it is a bomb that can explode at any time. The soldier who stole the grenade was dismissed from the army on the grounds of insanity, another crime. This is the time when the lives of those in high positions who never treated the bottom well were treated with respect. This is unusual for soldiers who are graduated from military school and always being slapped in the face.
Now, when the offensives and attacks of the revolutionary forces are accelerating, even the fast infantry battalions that are known as brave and dare are showing white flags. They surrendered and fled across the border. Defense Minister U Yee Mon said that “two-thirds of the 30 infantry fighting divisions of the military council have been crippled. Many commanders of the battalion have been killed/captured, and there are many units that have been killed or destroyed…”
So, no matter how much the military council and the propagandists welcomed with drumbeat, The faces of young people who are forcely recruited are not happy. As young people are unfairly recruited by using weapons, they are the ones who have to fight to the death for the generals, so they more or less know that they are being treated like this. So the revolution period has already passed 3 years. At this time, for survival, I just wish that the young people could value their life and get out of the army.
✍️NaungYoe