Mandatory Service

Military Service in the AAF is Mandatory for all Male Arstotzkan citizens. The Mandatory Service begins with the enlistment process into the AAF, of an Arstotzkan resident who has reached the age of 18. Upon completion of the service, the discharged person receives a certificate of release from military service. Tho the AAF itself only forces Mandatory Service upon Men and the Option to Volunteer for Women, any Duchy may decide to give the Universal Mandatory Service to it's Citizens.

## **Duration of Mandatory Service**

For conscripts as of May 2021, the duration of service shall be 18 Months. For those who are called up for Mandatory service when they are over 30 years old, the period of service is shorter.

### **Periods that do not Count as Time Served**

The days of imprisonment of a soldier who is sent to a military prison during their service are not counted as part of the period of service and in fact the date of their release has been postponed accordingly.

Some positions have pre-military trainings that are not counted as part of the service. However, the military may retroactively recognize this period as part of Mandatory service and shorten service accordingly.

### **Extention of the Service Period**

In certain positions, the recruit is required to extend their service (signing into an additional Mandatory service), usually due to a long training course.

### **Shortening of the Service Period**

In some cases, it is possible to receive a service shortening, for example due to social security problems or admission to higher studies at an academic institution, when the opening date of the school year is close to the date of release and completion of full service can affect admission to the institution.

## **Exemptions from Military Service**

The duty of mandatory service applies to every male citizen or resident who has reached the age of 18, and exemptions are those released due to non-compliance, and a variety of exemptions enshrined in law. For minorities, recruitment is also Mandatory for Men and Voluntary for Women, unless otherwise Specified for any Specific Ethnic Group by Law.

An additional exemption from Mandatory service is for those with a profile 21 (exemption for health reasons).

### **Mandatory Service for Immigrants and Rights to those who Avoid it**

An immigrant's son has Arstotzkan citizenship intended for military service, who left Arstotzka with his parents before the age of 16, or was born abroad to Arstotzkan parents and his family did not return to live in Arstotzka. An immigrant son is entitled to a deferral of military service under certain restrictions. An application for "immigrant son" status is submitted to the consul abroad or to the Manpower Directorate in Arstotzka.

If the request is approved, they will postpone the recruitment of that Person to the AAF. After receiving the notification regarding the acceptance of the status of an immigrant son, that Son will be able to visit Arstotzka every calendar year for 4 months, without requiring him to enlist in the army, and in addition if he leaves before the age of 13 his parents must stay in Arstotzka for up to 180 days a year, And if he left before the age of 16, his parents must stay in the country for up to 180 days a year until he reaches the age of 20. On a one-time basis during his life, the Son will be able to stay in Arstotzka for an entire year. In order to take advantage of this, the Son will have to stay abroad for two months before and after the year of stay in Arstotzka. This arrangement will remain in force as long as the center of life of the Son is outside Arstotzka and the Son meets the terms of the settlement.

In addition, the army can recognize the Son as an immigrant if he entered the country after the age of 16 and stayed in the country for less than two years or arrived after the age of 20 and stayed in the country for less than 3 years.

## **Wages and Benefits**

During the period of mandatory service, the soldier receives a subsistence allowance. This payment is considerably lower than the minimum wage, and does not constitute wages.

In addition, the released soldiers are granted various benefits in addition to the direct compensation they receive from the AAF. These Benefits include:

* Soldiers who have served as combatants - receive a combatant certificate after about 1 year and 3 Months of service.
* There is a granting of a release grant and the creation of a deposit, in which an amount of money is accrued to a soldier's duty in mandatory service, and the soldier receives this amount upon discharge from mandatory service (in the first years for certain purposes as set by law, and after that for any Purpose). The amount of the grant and deposit has three levels, according to the soldier's service characteristics, with combatants receiving a higher amount from combat supporters, and those receive a higher amount from soldiers who have not served in combat roles or as combat supporters.
* The Income Tax Order grants a soldier discharged from mandatory service a tax credit, for the first two years of their release.
* Combatants with a combat certificate are entitled to two-thirds of the tuition fee for an academic degree or professional study.

## **Special Laws of Mandatory Service per Duchy**

* Suomi: In Suomi, there is Universal Mandatory Service, which means that Both Men and Women have to Serve upon reaching the Age of 18, both for 18 Months.
* Rossiya: In Rossiya, 4 Year Olds Serve too