For many young people, military service, Khidmat Al Alam, is often associated with hardship, rigid routines, and long days far from the comforts of modern life. It is therefore unsurprising that when our youth are asked what they want to become when they grow up, relatively few answer: “A soldier.”
Yet history suggests that societies thrive when they succeed in making service, discipline, and national contribution a source of pride rather than obligation. The challenge facing the GCC today is not whether every citizen should become a professional soldier. Rather, it is whether the region can afford to overlook one of the most effective tools for developing disciplined, resilient, technologically capable citizens in an age increasingly defined by artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and geopolitical uncertainty.
The future of military service may have less to do with marching boots and more to do with algorithms, drones, and cybersecurity.
Recent research has repeatedly demonstrated that self-discipline is among the strongest predictors of long-term success. Studies by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and elsewhere have shown that discipline often predicts academic achievement more accurately than raw intelligence. Similar findings in workforce development suggest that individuals with strong self-regulation skills enjoy higher employability, better career progression, stronger mental resilience, and greater financial stability. In an era dominated by distraction, instant gratification, and social media addiction, discipline is becoming a strategic asset, not only for individuals but for nations.
History offers a compelling lesson. I enjoyed visiting The Egyptian Grand Museum recently where I learned that around 1550 BCE, the Egyptian Pharaoh Ahmose I inherited a kingdom weakened by decades of foreign domination under the Hyksos. Rather than simply defeating his adversaries, Ahmose and his successors studied and adopted many of the military innovations introduced by their rivals, including horse-drawn chariots, composite bows, and more professional military organisation. The result was not merely a military victory. It was the birth of Egypt’s New Kingdom, one of the most prosperous and influential periods in ancient history. Military modernisation became the foundation for centuries of stability, trade, technological advancement, and cultural achievement. The lesson remains relevant today: nations prosper when they transform security challenges into opportunities for innovation.
Every major technological revolution has reshaped warfare. The industrial age produced railways, tanks, and aircraft. The information age introduced satellites, cyber operations, and precision-guided systems. The AI age is already transforming conflict through autonomous drones, predictive intelligence platforms, cyber defence systems, synthetic media, and human-machine teaming.
The wars of the future are unlikely to be won solely by those with the largest armies. They will be won by societies capable of adapting faster than their competitors. This is where the GCC has a unique opportunity. Instead of viewing national service primarily as military preparation, governments could reimagine it as an AI-Age National Service Program, a platform that combines traditional military values with future-oriented skills.
Imagine a programme where participants receive physical fitness training, leadership development, teamwork, and crisis management instruction alongside practical education in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, drone operations, digital resilience, strategic communications, emergency response, and data analytics. One graduate might become a drone pilot. Another might specialise in cyber defence. A third could develop AI applications for logistics, disaster management, or critical infrastructure protection. All would leave with stronger discipline, practical experience, and a deeper sense of responsibility toward their nation and community. Such a model would align naturally with the GCC’s economic ambitions.
Across the region, governments are investing billions of dollars in AI, advanced manufacturing, digital infrastructure, semiconductors, space technologies, and knowledge-based industries. Yet technology alone does not create competitive advantage. Human capital does. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report continues to identify analytical thinking, resilience, technological literacy, leadership, and lifelong learning among the most important skills of the future. National service can become a powerful mechanism for cultivating precisely these capabilities at scale.
Indeed, some of the world’s most innovative economies have long recognised this connection. Countries such as Singapore, South Korea, and Israel have leveraged national service not only to strengthen defence capabilities but also to develop leadership pipelines, technical expertise, and innovation ecosystems. While the GCC should develop a model suited to its own culture and priorities, the broader lesson remains clear: Service can become a launchpad for innovation.
Most importantly, this approach would help bridge one of the region’s most pressing challenges: Ensuring that young citizens remain competitive in a rapidly changing labour market. Employers increasingly seek candidates who can lead teams, solve problems under pressure, communicate effectively, and adapt to technological change. These are precisely the qualities that a well-designed national service programme can cultivate.
The objective should not be militarisation. It should be modernisation.
A successful national service programme would produce healthier, more disciplined, and more technologically capable citizens. It would strengthen national resilience while simultaneously supporting economic diversification. It would help create a generation that understands not only how to defend a nation, but also how to build one.
The ideal graduate of such a programme would not simply know how to carry a rifle. They would know how to operate a drone, secure a network, analyse data, manage a crisis, collaborate with artificial intelligence, and lead a team toward a common objective. In other words, they would be prepared for the future.
The GCC has already demonstrated its ability to transform deserts into smart cities, build globally connected economies, and compete in emerging industries. The next great transformation may be to reinvent national service itself, not as a relic of the past, but as a gateway to the future. The most successful nations of the AI age may not be those with the largest populations or even the strongest militaries. There may be those who succeed in turning discipline into a national competitive advantage. In Surat Al Anfal, the Holy Quran says “Develop every source of power available to you.”
And perhaps the challenge before us is not convincing young people to serve. It is making service cool enough that they aspire to.
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