In the early days, service in the Roman legions and the imperial Roman navy was always voluntary. The ancient leaders recognised that men who take up service were more likely to turn out as reliable.
It was only during terms of what we can call emergencies (threats of invasion, for instance the invasions of Italy by Pyrrhus, Hannibal and the Cimbri) that conscription was used.
These Roman men at arms had to be skilled in the use of weapons firstly, but they also served as craftsmen. They had to make sure that everything that the legion required remained ready and mobile.
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