From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishnational serviceˌnational ˈservice noun [uncountable] PMthe system of making all adults spend a period of time in the army, navy, or air force
Examples from the Corpus
national service• Other young men followed, some after national service in the Soviet army, or university training.• Jehovah's Witnesses' religious beliefs precludes them from undertaking compulsory national service.• After completing his national service in the Army, the youthful Dawson decided to go to Paris in search of literary inspiration.• Predictably perhaps, he drove tanks during his 10 months' national service.• There is as yet no national service women.• He, in turn, said it was not; he merely regarded national service as a waste of time.• Its pages brimmed with the idealism, patriotism, and commitment to national service that Groton instilled in its young charges. 