Those who would be called up for military service but instead chose alternative civilian service, what was that alternative service like?

7 comments

1. Gardening on a small cemetery run by a small parish. Very relaxed, best 13 months of my life.
   That was in Germany in the 1990s, back when we still had conscription.

2. It was wonderful, I worked in a facility caring for the elderly and disabled. I was employed there after my service ended before starting my studies.

   Got to do all kinds of jobs and heard great stories from the elderly as a bonus.

3. Women aren’t drafted (although that has been up for debate not so long ago), so I don’t have any personal stories, but there are two ways to object in case you draw the “wrong” lot (yes, it’s lottery). The “informal”, if you will, where you apply for emergency and rescue services (beredskabsstyrelsen), where it’s supposedly more about disaster management rather than military. The formal objection, where you will be set to do community service for the same duration as the draft instead

   I know my grandfather refused to serve in the army and instead worked as a custodian at a museum. He seemed quite content with it when told me about it

4. Germany, 2000: I worked in assisted living project for adult mentally handicapped people.

   The tasks were, among others: preparing meals, helping the guys wash and dress themselves, getting them ready for work in the morning, taking them to doctor’s appointments, making sure they took their medication, grocery shopping and general caretaker duties. I did a lot of night shifts because my colleagues preferred being at home with their families at night and I didn’t mind.

   I liked the job and even extended my contract for 3 months to fill the gap until classes started at University.

   After spending 13 years in school and before sitting in college for 9 years (including PhD), it sure was a valuable experience.

5. Switzerland, 2010s. When I did my service, the conditions were that it be 1.5 times as long as military service, and if the conscript did not go through the basic 17 week training (as was my case) , he had to do 180 of the total amount of days in one go, or split over two portions in two subsequent years, in one institution that was either of the category “care and nursing” or “environment”. This gig we called “the long mission”. Otherwise, we were free to go on missions wherever we liked, but it had to be missions of minimum 33 days every calendar year.

   As a Zivi, I had access to a database of open jobs where I could apply. Categories apart of the two mentioned above were “Agriculture” and “Culture and Education”.

   I first worked a month in a tiny little hospital as the janitor’s aide. The year or two after, I worked in a little museum, once during summer, once during winter. For my “long mission” I worked two summers building dry stone walls for natural reservations in a group with 10 other Zivis. One of the best times of my life.

   Dry stone walls are a great thing for the landscape and building them is fun and rewarding.

   Next to alternate civilian service and the military, there is also civil defense; maintaining bunkers, flood control and so on and so forth.

6. I did my service in a special education school for children with multiple disabilities. We supported the teachers during the lessons, drove children home (only the youngest), and when the school was closed in the afternoon, we had to help the kitchen staff or the caretaker.

7. My father in the 1980s worked with homeless people, doing special interventions and such. He witnessed many horrific things (like somebody who had worms living on them) but it was very formative as well.