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.
