I’ve enlisted in the army for my obligatory 1-year stint (courtesy of NATO and our military policy), so I will be scarce to non-existent here for the following year. It’s domestic duty for 99% of the people who serve, so no worries on that front. It’s been a good two and a half years, especially because of some of you (you’ll have to guess) and I trust rpgc will be still going strong when I return. I’m leaving in a week or so.
Don’t get killed! 
Watch Full Metal Jacket before you leave. At least the first third when they’re in boot camp.
Good luck! Keep us posted if you get the chance!
As any Finnish army dude would say: HAJOA AAMUIHIS! (May your mornings left-count break you.)
Have fun. Hopefully, it won’t rain. Or snow. Too much. cackle
Good luck! We’ll try not to invade!
I think the Greek army just got a little funkier.
Take care of yourself, Rig, and bring us back many funny stories! 
So… Was this like a draft where you got to choose when you served?
No, many European countries have a mandatory military enlistment that lasts for a short while. Didn’t our Finnish friend Mabatsekker do the same?
Anyways good luck. Bring lots of metal with you to keep the adrenalin flowing.
Later dude. Stay alive.
That’s what I meant by draft. Mandatory service.
Rig, καλή τύχη!
I always had fun reading you. Take care, and if Meimarakis decides to send your unit to Afghanistan, just role-play Ἀλέξανδρος Γ’ ὁ Μακεδών 
Good luck and have fun! And don’t die. That’d be bad.
Yeah, I’ve seen FMJ. Btw most deaths in the Greek army are suicides (poor guys), so I should be safe, you death invokers :P. I don’t think a year of assholery, in the worst case, will be that bad and there are -not too publicised- resources, anyway. I’m too dependent on breathing to quit.
I may get a month’s worth of snow (March is infamous for its fluctuating weather), but I’ll probably miss out on the chilly Nov-Jan period, as I won’t be at the borders during the second half. The summer heat (30-40C) will be probably worse.
I heard we may be buying F-35s from the U.S., so I doubt you’ll invade We actually decided to buy Eurofighters a decade ago, and if Europe had some kind of political presence, we’d have bought the damn things instead of waiting for the production of the F-35s to finish, so we can get some diplomatic help and calm things in the Aegean down.
I’d love to say the Greek Army just got a Sex Machine, but This is a Man’s World. On the other hand, Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag. That’s still good funk.
I’ll try to skip the boring parts and bring back the most surrealist stories.
Typically, every male citizen has to serve at 18, but you get up to 8 years or whereabouts college deferment. I decided to enter earlier and be done with it.
As for metal, I’ll bring some music, though some of the local countryside singers are quite hardcore. The rest love whining I’ve heard rumors about a proliferation of handhelds in distant areas, which wouldn’t hurt.
Спасибо, Seifer. We only have medics, technical corps and officers in Afghanistan, so I won’t be seeing the places my famous countryman went to. Playing Alexander the Great could even count possibly towards a deployment there, heh.
Conscripts generally don’t have anything to do with fighting (doing it/facilitating it) during times of peace, so no major qualms there.
I’ll be hanging around till I leave.
Man is mandatory military service something that’s normal to a lot of people? I would not be in the slightest bit okay with something like that.
We have it here in Sweden too. Yes, we have a draft in Sweden. Stop laughing.
I suppose that when you know it’s going to do it, you just get used to the thought and that’s that.
Women aren’t drafted, though
It’s either that or being unable to enter the country for 7 years (age 28-35), still doing the basic training and paying about 9000 euros to be discharged. Alternative (community) service is double the time and has to take place at faraway areas under bad conditions, so this one’s out. The poster-boy conscientious objector’s case had been in and out of courts for 10-15 years without any definitive verdict yet. All in all, I’d rather serve a year and have the option of being close to my parents should their health begin to deteriorate.
Does it suck? Yes. [skip NATO rant]. Essentially, I figure I’ll do some body training, read a few books during my watches and wait for the year to end.
edit: Women luck out this time XD
Your encyclopedic knowledge and cultured wit have never ceased to amaze me. Go out and see the world and come back in one piece.
Best of luck.
Four years later, the institution has gotten considerably more lax than it was during my time, I tell ya… There’s one difference, tho’: It’s gonna be 8 to 11 months instead of 6-9-12-Army Is A-Ok months. And no, serving as a provisioner (AKA, Cook) isn’t going to make you into a Steven Segal knife-jutsu expert. Can’t blame me for trying…
Also: HI GIANT EASTERN NEIGHBOUR. HOW’S THAT NATO FOR YOU?