I sure could have used the maturity, the money, and the time when I was younger. I learned the hard way that attending college when you have no idea what you want to do only delays your graduation date (major change absolutely fucked me).
Issue? That's the best part.
> They are usually cheap labour or just bodies to put where you need a physical presence but no real skill.
That rhymes with many jobs and services people perform.
> If the conscription paid the appropriate wage for the role, absolutely that would be a great idea and help those who were coming out of difficult situations such as foster and poor home life too.
That would be one contingency, yes. In my fantasy, there would also be free healthcare and public, secondary education for any and all the performed military or civil service. In fact, I would even advocate for fast-tracking immigration and citizenship in a similar manner.
My state sort of has a similar policy. Any adult 18 years or older without a secondary education degree can attend community college for free. However, some n number of hours of mandatory community service is required every semester in order to receive the benefit.
The reasons I would support such a policy would be difficult to describe in a terse manner. My one-liner justification is that such a policy would be have to be transactional. Citizens serve their nation and their nation servers its citizens -- far from what we currently have.
Force young people to work with and get to know people from other backgrounds.