Jordan to reactivate military service amid heightened regional tensions

Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah has announced the reactivation of national military service in the country after a more than three-decade suspension.

The announcement was made on Sunday during a meeting with young Jordanians in Irbid, northern Jordan, where the Crown Prince described national service as a means to prepare citizens to serve their country, foster values such as discipline, and strengthen national identity and connection to the homeland.

“Young Jordanians must be prepared to serve and defend their country,” the Crown Prince said. 

Jordan ended conscription in 1991, under which men between the ages of 18 and 40 had to serve in the army for two years.

Since 2020, only young unemployed men have been subject to a one-year military service, a measure taken at the time to fight unemployment in the midst of the economic crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to official government spokesperson Mohammad Momani, the new conscription programme will consist of a predominant military track and a theoretical track.

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