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Finnish Draft Deferment for Internet Addicts

From Yahoo! News:

HELSINKI (Reuters) - A number of Finnish conscripts have been excused their full term of military service because they are addicted to the Internet, the Finnish Defence Forces says.

Ah, Finland! Back in 1994 I volunteered for military service. I was a hard-core computer geek, and one argument my Mother employed to try and dissuade me from enlisting was that I would be away for my computer for a very long time. While that would be hard, I viewed such separation as a character-building exercise, a valuable component of military service.

(Though, I did skip out on the Marine Corps after the recruiter told me that telephone access for Marines was generally two payphones per fifty grunts. In the Army at least I had a prayer of some day gaining access to a modem.)

These Finnish men get no free pass, however, they simply get a deferrment, some growing up time:

“They get sent home for three years and after that they have to come back … “

82% of Finnish men serve in the armed forces. That number is a lot better than we have here in the United States.