Right
殳 — pictograph of a hand wielding a long staff or club, the bamboo-pole weapon used in ancient Chinese armies. Combined with the step radical, the picture is a soldier marching with weapon in hand — exactly the conscript-for-military-service scene that gave
役 its meaning. From there extended to 'forced labour, corvée, servant duty' more generally (
兵役,
战役,
劳役,
苦役).
