Prince Maurits sometimes regrets that military service has been abolished. If he compares the time before and after the elimination of military service, some skills are now less developed, the prince told Wednesday in the talk show Jinek.
“I think it is a pity somewhere that compulsory military service has been abolished,” said the eldest son of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Pieter van Vollenhoven during a conversation about the SAIL maritime event, of which he is the patron. “Conscription gives you, if you look at the past and present, a form of discipline and perseverance.”
The prince finds that qualities that are missing in this present time. “All of my buddies employed have been given skills that they would probably never have had otherwise.”
From August 1987 to January 1989, Prince Maurits performed his military service with the Marine Corps and the Royal Netherlands Navy. Since September 1, 2017, the 51-year-old prince has the rank of sea captain of the Royal Navy.
In the Netherlands there is still compulsory military service and since 1 January 2020 it has also been applicable to women. There has been a suspension of the attendance requirement since 1 May 1997. The Defense organization has therefore not called for new conscripts since 1 August 1996, but seventeen-year-old men and women still receive a letter about their registration for conscription.
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