UK army minimum recruitment age should be raised to 18 – survey
10/09/2018
ICM survey was commissioned by campaigners against child soldiers The Guardian
British army ‘explicitly targeting’ working-class recruits, say critics
10/09/2018
Recruitment drive focuses on teenagers seeking adrenaline, says Child Soldiers International
The Guardian
Arms industry spends millions to promote brands in schools
10/09/2018
Defence groups sponsor lessons that promote building and sale of military hardware
The Observer
Girl Guides defend controversial new deal with British army
10/09/2018
Petition launched after members claim partnership with military runs counter to the Guides’ peace ethos
The Observer
Notes on attending the inquest into Sean Benton’s death at Deepcut barracks
24/07/2018
ForcesWatch comment
Last week the Coroner at Working Coroner’s Court delivered the findings into the circumstances of Sean Benton’s death at Deepcut Barracks in June 1995. Sean was the first of four soldiers to die there between 1995 and 2002. ForcesWatch have been monitoring the inquest; this article shares our records from the inquest and notes on the final findings.
Download the full notes
Parliamentary mental health inquiry shows youngest military recruits and those from disadvantaged backgrounds face greater mental health risks than others in the forces
24/07/2018
The Defence Select Committee recommended that the Ministry of Defence ‘conducts or commissions further research into female personnel, early Service leavers and recruits under 18 to determine the extent to which they are at higher risk of developing mental health conditions.’
ForcesWatch press release
Deepcut – another verdict; still more questions….
18/07/2018
Today is a significant day in the Deepcut tragedy. We explore some of the problems that allowed the toxic environment of Deepcut to develop and continue to persist today and why raising the age of recruitment would provide a significant part of the solution.
ForcesWatch comment
Misguided aim of weapons show
14/07/2018
ForcesWatch comment
The following letter was sent to the Sunday Times and a version is published here.
The concerted effort to increase the power of the military across society must be challenged
30/06/2018
ForcesWatch comment
As support for the military is paraded in streets across the UK at Armed Forces Day events, politicians charged with fighting the military's corner are waging their own war on public and political opinion.
This article was published in The Morning Star on 2 July 2018
Warrior Nation – ‘the hidden power of the military’
29/06/2018
ForcesWatch comment
The apparent threat by the Defence Secretary to bring down the Prime Minister should she fail to stump up more billions for the armed forces formed the background to the launch of a major new report on 25 June.
Warrior Nation: War, militarisation and British democracy examines the relationship between recent conflicts and the wider power of the military in society and politics.