Americans of a certain age remember the Selective Service Act — the draft — with fear and loathing. During the 1960s, the Vietnam Era, the draft was talked about relentlessly by males over the age of 16. What to do about it. How to avoid it. Richard Nixon is not remembered fondly as a president, but he was the man who ended the draft, officially, in 1973.

Recalling that brings into contrast the apparent near-universal enthusiasm, among UAE citizens, for universal male conscription, announced by the government yesterday.

All men from the ages of 18 to 30 will face mandatory military service, and the length of service is pegged to a high school diploma.

Those who complete high school will serve nine months. Those who do not will be in the military for two years. Women can volunteer to join the military, but will not be conscripted.

It is difficult to imagine the draft being restored in the U.S., barring some major and ongoing disaster. But it makes sense in the UAE on several levels.

–It will encourage some Emirati males to finish high school; about 15 percent do not, at present. If they want to do only nine months in the military, instead of 24, they will stick around for graduation.

–The Middle East is becoming steadily militarized because of numerous crises, but the UAE’s military has been voluntary all along, and very small, even with a potential adversary, Iran, which has conscription, just across the Gulf.  The draft, which will have a “reserve” component to it, begins to address that imbalance, and a future in which the U.S. Sixth Fleet may not always be parked between America’s Gulf allies and Iran.

–It presumably will diminish the presence of foreign nationals in the UAE military “from countries that may be facing current or future problems”, a military analyst told The National.

–It addresses the fear, expressed by adult Emiratis, of indolence among their young men. “We wanted this to be imposed a long time ago,” said a member of the National Federal Council. A retired government worker told The National that the lives of many young men are “empty” and that most of them were “wasting their time”.

The overwhelming sense is that a stint in the military will create good habits and personal discipline among young male Emiratis, and create a force that not only can fight for the country but help in times of natural disasters.

“This is a small thing they can give back to their country,” a military officer said. “My country has given me everything and national service really encourages us to take care of our nation.”

Per capita income among Emiratis (UAE citizens) is far closer to that of Qatar’s $100,000, ranked No. 1 in the world, as of 2012, than the number ascribed to the UAE in this study — which must include expats to come in as low as $29,000 per person.

How Emirati young men feel about this is not entirely clear, though we know of at least one or two who do not seem keen to learn how to handle weapons and respond to military discipline.

So far, the UAE appears to be in love with the draft.