Ahu Dhabi/ Dubai: Emiratis on Saturday welcomed the new law mandating them to serve in the military, saying it’s an “honourable” way of giving back to a country that has given them so much.

The law was officially signed by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan making it compulsory for Emirati men aged between 18 and 30 and medically fit to serve in the military for nine months if they have a high school degree, while those without will be required to serve for two years.

Females will also be eligible to enlist for the military, but it is optional, and they would have to take the permission of their legal guardians.

Part of the military service would require military training and exercises, as well as lectures on patriotism.

Gulf News spoke with Emiratis about the new law, and the reaction was positive.

Saeed Al Reyami said, “This is a very good thing; it will make the people more responsible, and it will also discipline them.”

“Many people are lazy these days as well as spoiled. They take what they have for granted, and don’t appreciate it. So this military service will make them realise what they have. It will make them appreciate how they are defended,” he added.

Al Reyami said compulsary military service will boost Emiratis’ loyalty to the country, further strengthen the military, and make it “safer”.

“This law should stand forever; people now are very childish, irresponsible; they don’t know how to live in the real world, and so this will be a very good thing,” Al Reyami said.

Fahd Mubarak, 25, who works as an executive in the goverment sector, is excited about the move.

“I’m excited about it. It is an honour to serve in the country’s military. I see no reason for it to be otherwise,” Mubarak said.

“When I was in high school I took a course in military training. So this is like an extension of that.”

Mubarak said serving in the military for Emiratis is important so that they can be ready in any eventuality in the future.

Essam Hassan Buhannad, 36, said military service will benefit Emiratis greatly. He knows this because he served in the military voluntarily from 1997 to 2001.

“I was 18 then. It taught me how to trust myself, how to love my country more, and it taught me survival skills,” he told Gulf News.

“Emirati men have to man up for this. Some of them just waste their time while they’re young. This is one way of giving back to our country, which has given us so much.”

Another Emirati, Badr Hilal Al Reyami, shared the same sentiments, and also spoke of how his own experience in military training helped him.

“I went for military training for around two months, and to this day it still helps me, so it is something very beneficial.”

“The military service will make people disciplined and strong. It will make people e more responsible because some people don’t know how to do a lot of things, so this will help them.”

Badr also believes the training will make both the military and country stronger in the long term.

“The military will increase in strength, because a lot of people will be joining and training during this period, and it will make the country become stronger. So I fully support this.”

Sami Zaatari is an intern with Gulf News