Chile is giving nearly 57,000 18-year-olds one month to report for potential military duty, saying the government needs to fill gaps in its armed forces because a nationwide student protest movement has reduced the number of volunteers it usually gets.
Military service is obligatory in Chile, but there are usually enough volunteers to fill the ranks so that no one has to serve against their will.
POOL
So far this year, 14,127 men and women born in 1993 have signed up and Chilean Deputy Secretary of the Armed Forces Alfonso Vargas said they need a bigger pool to choose from to fill 11,340 spots. That’s why 56,793 more teenagers will need to report in a month for potential duty next year, he said on the draft office’s Web site.
Vargas blamed the student movement that has been campaigning for education reform since April for leading thousands of young people to boycott schools and thus closing doors to military recruiters.
Brigadier General Gunther Siebert, who directs Chile’s military draft, also blamed the student movement in an interview published on Monday in the El Mercurio newspaper, and said 2.5 candidates are needed for every spot because many can’t serve for physical or other reasons.
SHORTAGE
However, Chile’s military also had a shortage last year, before the movement began, and at that time they called up fewer than 39,000 for the draft.
To have 2.5 candidates for each spot, the military would need to call up only 14,223 more youngsters. Instead, so many more have been told to report that Chile could have more than six candidates for each position.
The Associated Press asked Chile’s national draft office in writing for an explanation, as requested by its spokesman, and did not immediately receive a response.
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