As many as 2,000 young Qatari men have registered for the first batch of the newly-introduced national service, exceeding expectations, in response to a Cabinet Decision issued late last year.

“It was surprising to receive such a great number of graduates registering for military service as soon as the process was launched,” HE the Minister of State for Defence Affairs Staff Major General Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah said yesterday.

He expected that registration for young Qatari women would be open next year to give them an opportunity to serve the nation.

The male recruits registered now will be trained at temporary location at Al Shamal Camp. A permanent training camps complex, with one camp each for men and women, are to be established to receive further recruits.

“There will be no exemption from the compulsory conscription of all young Qatari men according to the applicable regulations,” he explained at a press conference at the Armed Forces’ General Command Headquarters.

“The idea of involuntary conscription by HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani has been highly received by all members of the Qatari society. Some men even, who are beyond the legal age of conscription, have come forward requesting registration. This drives us to look for a way to accept them,” he added.

All applications will be looked into and classified into batches. More than one batch will be received during the year.

 “There will be good rewards and incentives for recruits who excel. Any recruit who wishes to go on to serve the Armed Forces or other security entities after concluding his compulsory service, will be welcomed,” explained  al-Attiyah.

Major General  Mubarak bin Mohamed al-Kumait al-Khayarin, Commander of the Emir Air Forces and chairman of the National Service Committee, said that general training for degree holders would be for three months, while those who have diplomas or lesser education, it would be four months.

Following the training there will be two phases of reserve: the first will continue for around 5-10 years, where the recall period would not exceed 14 days. The second reserve phase will go on until the recruit becomes 40 years old and recalled upon demand.

Al-Khayarin said that recruits would be given general training during their initial induction, and subsequently distributed to the various branches and units of the Armed Forces with adequate training, according to the need. 

“The first year of this process will be considered an experimental phase and an opportunity to assess the training militarily and academically,” he said.

For university students, military conscription could be delayed until their graduation. The conscription programme targets Qataris in the age category of 18- 35 years.

Recruits ‘to be trained like professional military personnel’

The young Qataris, who have to register for compulsory military service, will be trained like professional military personnel or students of military colleges, Brigadier General Misfr al-Ayadi, commander, Students Training Centre, said yesterday. The objective of the compulsory conscription project is to give young citizens enough training to tackle missions at the Armed Forces in case of emergencies and crises. 

Major Abdulla al-Kuwari, representative of the legal affairs at the National Service Committee, said there would be a mechanism to call on potential conscripts and notices would be served through government entities giving a grace period for the conscript to report for duty.

In case of a delay in showing up, there would be penalties and the service period extended. If an individual did not show up for the military service until he exceeded the legal age, strict penalties would be enforced, amounting to one month in jail and a fine of QR50,000.  

Staff Major General (Pilot) Mubarak bin Mohamed al-Kumait al-Khayarin, Commander of the Emir Air Forces and chairman of the National Service Committee, pointed out the national service law to be issued soon would address all the details regarding the conscription process, exemption, delay and all other related topics.