Many who supported the campaign for compulsory military service in Edwardian Britain saw it as a necessary measure against the threat of invasion and the shadow of German militarism. Others identified it as a valuable counter to 'softness, indiscipline and unmanliness' in young...

Providing economic alternatives has been key to the successful demobilization of nearly 30,000 child soldiers in eastern Congo. Ronaldo is covered with a thin layer of sawdust. As the sun sets over a hilltop woodshop in eastern Congo, the 16 year old takes...

Sri Lanka must investigate allegations that its military helps a militia fighting separatist Tamil Tiger rebels conscript child soldiers, or allow an independent international investigation, a human rights group said Wednesday.New York-based Human Rights Watch said the government's alleged complicity in the child abductions show...

Prosecutors charged a soldier Wednesday in connection with the death of a conscript who was allegedly beaten by two drunken officers and left overnight in a dog kennel.Monday's death of Pvt. Sergei Sinkonen from injuries inflicted two weeks ago again highlighted troubles in the Russian...

A military draft is a system where people are required to serve the military involuntarily. The first military draft in the United States took place during the Civil War. During the Civil War a man who was drafted had the choice to hire a replacement to fight for him. The draft was not seen again in the United States until 1948 when President Truman got congress to sign the Selective Service Act. The act called for all men to register for the draft.