Definitely in our family, friends or acquaintances, we have someone or some people who have one of their main concerns and anxieties to be exempt from mandatory military service, and we have probably seen people who have made every effort – whether by paying high costs or enduring difficult consequences – to avoid entering this stressful two-year process.

The psychological dimensions of mandatory military service are very important; because it takes up a significant portion of young people’s lives and can have long-term effects and damages that can affect the individual. Entering a new environment full of uncertainties, coercion, and contradictions can have a significant psychological pressure on the individual. It is a period that does not benefit the individual and aims to train and educate them for the collective interests or a specific group.

If we want to investigate and evaluate this phenomenon, we need to understand the period of youth and the nurturing environment more. Imagine adolescence, who has achieved relative independence and desired self-sufficiency in their growth process, but has not yet reached stability and stability. In this situation, they are forced to enter a new and unfamiliar environment without any knowledge of strict and constant rules, and suddenly separate from their family without any background in skills such as coping strategies for problems and problem-solving skills. On the other hand, this individual must enter an environment where not only their agency and individuality are not important, but they must strive for a collective position that has no psychological attachment or connection. Individual identity is completely ignored and worthless in this framework, and the youth must be educated and nurtured based on a set of collective and group values and beliefs, which of course do not consider their personal interests and are by no means equal to their psychological and developmental needs. For example, from the moment of entry,

Forcing tasks and not being on par with them will definitely not be desirable and pleasant for him; because when a task is not in line with our abilities and personal characteristics, it causes emotions such as incompetence and worthlessness, and also makes us experience a set of feelings of dissatisfaction with ourselves and the fact that we do not have the ability to make decisions and control the situation.

Mental attacks on independence at this age will also have psychological damages, as individuals in this age group understand the meaning of coercion well, they also understand the meaning of sustainable independence and fully understand the issue that compulsory military service stands against independence and self-sufficiency. Losing competence and dignity due to coercion can also be a greater challenge for them.

Of course, the views of those who support mandatory military service should also be examined and evaluated, and the reasons and methods behind it should be addressed. For example, some people believe that military service can have some useful and positive qualities for young people; such as strengthening responsibility, teamwork, and achieving self-sufficiency and independence. Some even refer to the period of military service as the “humanization factory” because they believe that mandatory military service increases personal and behavioral qualities such as flexibility and adaptability in young people. However, from a psychological perspective, these opinions can be rejected and criticized because there is no practical platform for acquiring such qualities. For example, in order to gain flexibility and adaptability, a safe and supportive environment must be provided for young people, or for their responsibility, a platform must be created where they feel a sense of belonging and are accepted unconditionally and feel independent. However, as mentioned above, individual independence is not recognized in mandatory military service.

This can be an answer for us that: we cannot put a young person in an unsafe, tense, and coercive environment and ask them to strengthen and increase their flexibility and responsibility. This actually not only does not make them adaptable and flexible, but it will make them angry and aggressive, because they realize that in a coercive process and in a system where there is no justice, their individuality and needs are ignored, and when they feel this lack of recognition, they cannot have a safe and functional relationship.

The oppressive environment carries such a heavy mental burden that even mental readiness and awareness backgrounds cannot be useful for young people, because on one hand we take away the independence and self-sufficiency that the individual has worked for during childhood and adolescence and has achieved a relative stability and consistency at this age, and on the other hand we expect them to increase their level of adaptability and flexibility in this pervasive anxiety.

Another important issue that has great psychological significance is that in compulsory military service, a damaging mold is created for young people, where they are expected to blindly follow the orders of their superiors without questioning, and this must continue for two years without any hesitation. This issue is a form of pure dominance that goes against the psychological and social growth of young people. In fact, at a time when there is a need for questioning, exploration, curiosity, and discovery, they are expected to only conform to authority, which leads them to mental stagnation and turmoil.

“Enforcing and controlling children and adolescents has always been one of the main goals of the Islamic Republic, and we can clearly see the continuation of this flawed process in mandatory military service. Young people must unconditionally spend two years in a rigid disciplinary training with absolute obedience and being placed in unequal groups. These damaging conditions, which are constantly repeated, have a destructive impact on the personal identity and value of young people.”

Alongside these damages, we often see that throughout the entire period of military service, there is an emphasis on mythologizing and sanctifying and constructing a predetermined framework of masculinity. For example, they say, “Military service makes a man out of you.” But we must ask, what kind of “masculinity” are we talking about when it is completely clear and obvious that the environment is filled with tension and widespread anxiety that can consume an individual for years? In this environment, young people must be able to create their own myths and sacred idols by imitating, emulating, and mimicking individuals or groups unconditionally. This very act of keeping the mind static and closed does not allow for critical thinking and psychological openness for young people and can keep them trapped in anxiety and depression in unstable conditions.

Placing young people in such an environment without considering their individual, social, psychological, and physical characteristics, and subsequently suppressing and neglecting their needs, creates a disruptive foundation and structure that increases the possibility of young people getting involved in a series of psychological damages; damages that often remain with them for many years in various aspects of life, including personal and emotional relationships, as well as interpersonal and social relationships.

We can mention a few cases of psychological damages:

• Suicide attempt

  Continuous and persistent attendance at stressful and tense events can have a detrimental effect on young people, making them vulnerable and unable to cope, leading them to resort to risky solutions such as suicide.

• Sexual harassment and misconduct:

  Due to being present in unsafe and closed conditions, without any sexual education and self-care, bullying behaviors, humiliation, and sexual harassment are prevalent in barracks and military bases.

• Increase in violent behaviors

  Being placed in unequal levels and relationships and neglecting the basic needs of young people creates an environment for aggressive behaviors.

• Increase in substance abuse

  Stressful and anxiety-provoking events that young people experience in these unsafe and unsupported environments can lead them towards substance abuse.

It should be noted that damages such as not feeling a sense of belonging to a compulsory group, not accepting social status and personal position, and experiencing social discrimination as a result of unequal relationships can also be among the hidden damages that usually affect young people; damages that are often overlooked due to being invisible and intangible.