In somw places it's more necessary than others. I don't think US would benefit from it, but here in Finland I'd rather keep it. I'd try to make civilian service more common choice than currently, though.
they were never deployed
You absolutely should not ever get deployed during mandatory service. That shit is not okay.
The point of military service isn't to fight wars abroad, which americans seem to do a lot, but to train reservists who can later defend the country if needed. It ranges between 6-11 months I think, which wouldn't give you enough time to both train the people and get something done anyway.
Civilian service or whatever is the correct term is in english, isn't soldiers doing civilian stuff, but an alternative path for those who don't want to be in the military. You'd work for some public organization, as a civilian.