News

2014-07-01

Maj. Gen Sheikh Ahmed bin Tahnoon: National Service Is A Great Honour And A Sacred National Duty

By Staff Major Yousef Juma AL Hadad, Editor-in-Chief

‎‏ What is the national service and what are the objectives of the Law No. (6) of 2014 for the national services and reserve law to achieve?

‎‏National service is a mandatory service for those who have been decided to be enlisted for the sake of the nation for a specified time and in accordance with the provisions of the law.

‎‏As for the objectives of this law,they are many and varied, including social, religious, political, security and economic ones. Example include, but are not limited to proper national upbringingof citizens, instilling and inculcation of the values of loyalty, belonging and sacrifice in them, linking these national values to the principles of our religion. It aims to create a strong and confident generation that possesses the essentials of personal leadership in terms of discipline, commitment, responsibility, self-reliance, physical strength, respect for the law and appreciation of the value of time, a generation thattrust themselves,their homeland, leaderships and institutions of the nation. This law will be effective in protecting citizens and immunizing them from the risk of being misled by intellectual subversive beliefs and extreme religious currents. It will have a significant role in highlighting the leading role of the armed forces and other security institutions in maintaining the security of the homeland and the protection of its accomplishments.The role of conscripts in national service is an extension to the role of these national bodies and institutions.

‎‏Who does national service apply to? What are the cases of exemption from national service?

‎‏The national service is mandatory for every male citizen who is (18) years old and not more than (30) years of age while the Federal Law No. (6) of 2014 for national and reserve service, i.e. any male who completed (17) years and one day, and the same condition with respect to females (citizens), but the recruitment of females is optional and subject to approval of the guardian.

‎‏With regard to exemption from national service, there are two types:

‎‏Final Exemption: for anyone who proves to be permanently unfit medically based on a decision of the medical committee, and the only son of his father or mother or both of them; and temporary exemption: for a son who is breadwinner for his father or mother, or both; the only breadwinner for his father if the latter is unable to win his living; the only breadwinner for his widowed or irrevocably divorced mother or for his mother who is married and her husband is unable to gain; the only breadwinner for his brother or brothers who are unable to gain or for his unmarried or non-working sister or sisters; the only breadwinner for some of his ascendants or descendants who are severely disabled or have illnesses that prevent them from supporting themselves; the one who supports those eligible to share in the pension of a martyr or the like; the eldest of those subject to the recruitment among the children of those who die as a result of military, police or security operations and the like of them in accordance with the provisions of the law, and if they do not have sons then the eldest of their brothers until the status of the lost is clear; the convicted person is sentenced to prison or trapped up throughout the period of execution of the sentence or remand; and the one who proves to be medically unfit on a temporary basis. It must be emphasized that all the above-mentioned cases of exemption must prove by official papers issued by the competent authorities in the country.

‎‏What are the steps of joining national service?

‎‏Every citizen who is 18 years old but does not exceed (30) years of age at the date when Federal Law No. (6) of 2014 on national and reserve service is in force, should visit the competent recruiting authorities as specified by the General Command of the Armed Forces, within thirty (30) days from the date of notification, to determine his position of recruitment in accordance with the provisions of this Act and in accordance with the observed rules and procedures.It is scheduled that the National and Reserve Service Committee, in coordination with the relevant units of the Armed Forces, setannually a program specifying the dates of screening recruits who have reached the age of recruitment or are decided to be recruited. And their names will be announced through available means.

‎‏Surely, there are many benefits and privileges that accrue to the recruits of the national service, what are those benefits and privileges?

‎‏At the beginning I would like to emphasize that the service of the country has not been, and will never be, paid.All citizens assigned to perform national service should be aware that the service is a great honor, and a sacred national duty in which they repay their country a fraction of its favours. I agree with you that there are many privileges and benefits of national service, in the forefront of which come military and security training and exercises that recruits will undergo during the service, which represents an essential source for their development and empowerment, gives them experience and new knowledge, hones their skills and increases their efficiency. We would like to emphasize that all ministries and government departments, public bodies and institutions, and the federal, local and private sector are obliged to keep for the recruit from their employees or workers his post or job, or any equal post or job until the end of the period of national service.The employee will be paid by his employer, throughout the duration of national service, what he deserves of salaries, allowances, bonuses, promotions and increases in salary and supplements, and will also be provided with medical treatment and expenses in accordance with regulations in force in the agencies where he performs the national service.

‎‏What is the duration of national service for males and females, and what programs and exercises does it include?

‎‏Males who have academic qualification less than high school will serve two years, whereas those with high school certificate or its equivalent or higher duration will serve 9 months, but female will have a term of service for 9 months, regardless of academic qualifications.The National Service will include training periods,military and security exercises, and religious and national awareness lectures.

‎‏Do you consider the period of national service part of the government employee service?

‎‏Yes, the period of national service for recruits who are hired, during their term of national service, by ministries, government departments, federal and local public bodies and institutions, and private sector, is considered as if spent in the service of these entities, and this time is calculated in terms of seniority and planed increment entitlements.The same applies if the recruiter, after the elapse of his national service, is appointed in government or private departments, the national service period will be added to his specified actual service for purposes of bonus, pension and other rights and privileges arising from the job and work,and the Armed Forces will bear the costs of annexation as per laws and regulations.

‎‏What are the rewards and privileges granted tonon-staff recruits?

‎‏`If non-staff category means unemployed, the law confirms that financial rewards for recruits and convoked will be determined by federal decree. As for the category of (craftsmen, and workers in the liberal professions or individual entrepreneurs),they will be given financial rewards to be determined in accordance with the implementing regulations of this law.

‎‏Will an employee in the public and private sectors be asked to apply for recruitment without prior coordination between his emplyer and the competent authorities of recruiting?

‎‏Law stipulates that every male citizen who has reached 18 years of age and is not more than 30,during the term of implementation of the law, shall apply to the competent recruitment authorities identified by the General Command, within 30 days from the date of notification, to determine the position of recruitment in accordance with the provisions of this Act and in accordance with the regulations and procedures in force. The law also stipulates that the federal and local government and the private sector agencies are obliged to allow their national employees - who meet the admission requirements of national service - to attend national service. In order to ensure the functioning of the government and private departments and institutions, there will be coordination between the National and Reserve Service Authority and these entities to regulate the recruitment process so as not to affect service the efficiency of the work in these agencies.

‎‏What is the mechanism of calculating the financial benefits of employees in the public and private sectors?

‎‏For calculating the financial benefits, the civil servant of government (federal / local) would receive from his employer for the duration of national service, what he deserves of salaries, allowances, bonuses, promotions and increases in salary and supplements. The national service period is calculated within the period specified for the purposes of the bonus or pension and other rights and privileges arising from employment or work, and the employee in the private sector will receive his overall monthly wage, including bonuses and allowances. The duration of national service shall be calculated within the period specified for the purposes of the bonus or pension and other rights and privileges arising from employment or work.

‎‏Is it possible to postpone national service for those who are residents with relatives out of state until they return from abroad?

‎‏Law stipulates that every male citizen who is 18 and has not exceeded 30 years of age, while this law is in force, should apply to the competentrecruitment authorities identified by the General Command, within thirty (30) days from the date of notification, to determine the position of recruitment in accordance with the provisions of this Act and in accordance with the regulations and procedures in force. Thus all those who are abroad and their names have been announced must go to the UAE Embassy or Military Attaché in the country of residence for further action. As for the postponement of the service, it is permissible if he meets deferrals conditions contained in Article (14) and (15) of the Act, including thatif the children have not been comprehended into the service by those agencies indicated in Article (6) of this Act, postponement will be for subsequent years, or if these sons are students of educational institutions outside the state and until they obtain the qualification for which they have been postponed, but provided they do not exceed the age of 29 years for the students of universities and colleges, institutes and training centers, where the period of study or training is two years or more, and receive a high school diploma at a rate not less than (90%), and when a student reaches the age of 18 years old and does not complete high school and continues in the morning study, and when the student reaches the maximum age(29) in the final stage.

‎‏What is the alternative service, and what is its nature and conditions?

‎‏Alternative service is a service that is alternative to national service and is performed in a specific period of time for those who are not eligible for recruitment in national service.A person who performs alternative service is required to be medically fit as determined by the medical committee and approvedbythe Nationaland Reserve Service Committee.During the alternative service, a recruit carries out administrative, civil or technical works that are commensurate with his capabilities. Its period must be equal to the period of national service. All those who are found not fit medically by decision of the medical committee on a permanent basis are exempted from this service. It is performed in the Armed Forces,the Ministry of defense, the Ministry of Interior, the State Security Authority, bodies and institutions of military system, and others, to be specified by a decision of the Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. We confirm that the recruits in alternative service are not subject to military exercises or training, and are exempted from sleeping in the camps, carrying weapons and ammunition, and from joining agencies that are far away from their place of residence.

‎‏Is it possible for citizens over the age of 30 to join national service?

‎‏No, because national service is mandatory on every malecitizen of 18 and did not exceed (30) years of age at the time of enforcement of the federal law for national and reserve service.

‎‏Is a graduate from high school permitted to postpone national service until the completion of undergraduate study in the event of receiving a scholarship out of state?

‎‏The law does not provide for permission of delay; this subject is under study and will be the decision will be taken by the National and Reserve Service Committee for each individual case.

‎‏Will national service recruits be subject to the same penalties applied to military personnel in the Armed Forces?

Unless it is provided for, recruits shall be subject, throughout the duration of the national service, to laws, decrees, regulations, instructions and orders in force in the agency in which they serve and is referred to in the law.

‎‏How did you find public and national reactions towards the issuance of National and Reserve Service Law?

‎‏In fact, once announced, the issuance of National and Reserve Service Lawpublic comments applauded it and considered it an important strategic move. Young citizens emphasized that they do not wait for legislation or a law to give their lives for the redemption of the nation, because the relationship of theUAE citizen with his homeland is a close and well-established one based on trust and appreciation and mutual respect. These responses have had a great impact on our minds, because they have embodied the highest images of popular cohesion and the extraordinary relationship that binds the people with their nation and leadership.

Comments () Views (4922 ) Print

Send To Friend