There are other bases besides war for national service, eg disaster prep, taking care of the poor and so on. In any case, being somewhat prepared for war at the human level and understanding what that entails is more productive that not being prepared and having to educate people in an unwelcome emergency.

The same goes for replacing the first two years of professional school with standing around in a big shed.

Exaggerated tropes like this don't make for useful discussion.