ABU DHABI // National service will be the making of the country’s youth, says a member of the programme’s authority.
“Mothers will notice the difference in their sons when they come back, and I think the general population will see a different side in our youth,” said Staff Col Mohammed Al Mulla, of the National and Reserve Service Authority.
Col Al Mulla was speaking at a majlis held by the Emirates Foundation, where the times and details for implementing the national service were announced, on Wednesday night.
Ahmed El Salami, 22, a student studying Electrical Engineering at Suffolk University, said he had volunteered for military experience and it changed his life.
“It was a great experience,” Mr El Salami said. “When I first entered they knew I was from a private school but they said this training will give you lessons for the rest of your life, so you’ll know you are Emirati and be proud of it.
“It changed me completely, 180 degrees. I have a sense of awareness and responsibility now that I didn’t have before I joined.
“It’s all about discipline, I think it will add a lot to my countrymen and give them a sense of pride of being an Emirati like I have now.”
Those being enlisted will receive a text telling them to enrol at one of several centres.
Men will be assigned to three months of general boot camp at training facilities in Ajman and Al Ain. Women, for whom national service is optional, will train in Abu Dhabi.
This will be followed by another three months in specialised training where authorities will take past experience, professions and areas of excellence into account for assignment.
The final phase will see them deployed at institutions including the Army, Marines, Air Force, Police, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defence.
Once participants complete their nine months they will become part of reserve forces and can be called on each year for training, or in case of emergency.
Reserves can be called on until they are 58 for lower ranks and 65 for officers.
Col Al Mulla said personal improvement would be an added benefit for young people.
Increased health through physical activity, better teamwork and an inclination to improve family bonding is an inherently important benefit of the programme, he said.
The main aim of national service is to increase the security of the country by having trained citizens.
Those who complete service can aid the UAE’s ability to deal with natural disasters, and help it resist ideologies imposed by extremist factions.
Public service, Col Al Mulla said, would benefit with soft skills such as communication and leadership, and employ about 24,000 unemployed nationals eligible for the programme.
He said national service would instil patriotism in citizens, and promote the idea of selflessness and holding the UAE as a priority.
Young people who have a secondary education certificate, a college degree and women who volunteer will participate for nine months.
“I don’t really think of it as nine months,” said Col Al Mulla. “It’s more like three months of actual training, then it will be skills training that will benefit the cadet in his life.”
Military service will be two years for those who have not completed high school.
Mohammed Al Shehhi, the legal adviser to the national service programme, said those who were previously employed will continue to be paid the same wage.
“This won’t count against their annual leave,” Mr Al Shehhi said. “Government workers will continue to receive their salaries.
“For the private sector, the Government will pay 50 per cent of the wages and the employer will pay the rest.”
Emiratis pursuing a college degree may continue their studies and postpone service until age 29, at which point they must enrol.
Only high school graduates in the top percentile of their class can postpone immediate service and attend university.
Mr Al Shehhi said those who refused to enrol within 30 days of receiving notification, or those who tried to falsify certificates or exemptions, would be subject to heavy fines.
nalwasmi@thenational.ae
