Serving the Duty System: A Social Opportunity

Our country as a young country is facing a phenomenon called military service which many young people and individuals consider it as a problem ahead. Since a significant age range of boys or men is subjected to military service, investigating and analyzing this period is of particular importance. In terms of functionalism, any phenomenon in the community is functional. In general, they consider the society to be a military arrangement. The aim of this study is to assess the social functions of military service for soldiers. In this study, it is attempted to investigate military service functions using interpretative phenomenological analysis method. The data is collected through interviews with twenty soldiers from all branches of education, different grades and different units. Interviews were conducted by one of the authors in the context of the phenomenon. Analysis of interviews identified 14 sub-categories, two main categories of personal and social functions and social opportunities as a core category. Results show that military service period enjoys personal and social functions for young soldiers. Personal consequences could include independency of young people, physical and mental health, punctuality, self-esteem, elimination of inappropriate individual characteristics and family appreciation. Also, the social functions include social responsibility, cooperation and solidarity, increased religiosity, social cohesion, social protection, social control, social identity and defense of the country.