Navy medic may face 10-year sentence for ‘disobedience’: Plight of conscientious objectors highlighted by man who refused rifle training
A Royal Navy medic with ethical objections to the Afghanistan war could face up to 10 years in prison after refusing to undergo rifle training. The Navy will hold a preliminary court-martial hearing against Michael Lyons on Friday.
Campaigners see the court martial as the Navy's attempt to deter other service personnel opposing military duty on grounds of conscience, religion or freedom of thought.
Armed forces report reveals MPs’ confusion over recruitment of under-18s
ForcesWatch press release
The report by the House of Commons Committee on the Armed Forces Bill has rejected proposals to raise the minimum age of recruitment to 18. But ForcesWatch, an NGO that submitted evidence to the Committee, suggests that the wording of the report reveals a lack of clarity over the law in this area, even among MPs and senior military personnel.
‘Boy soldiers’ artwork shown outside Parliament
A three-dimensional art installation depicting child soldiers is being displayed outside the Houses of Parliament as part of a peace campaign.
Cadet forces to be expanded in state schools
Telegraph
Military 'spirit' is to be encouraged in classrooms with the expansion of cadet forces in state schools.
One in 10 Army recruits ‘bullied and intimidated’
A decade after Deepcut, MoD reports reveal failure to tackle problem affecting hundreds of trainees.
More than 17,000 episodes of troops going Awol since 2003
British soldiers have gone on the run from their posts on more than 17,000 occasions since the start of the Iraq war, The Independent can reveal.
At least 1,000 UK soldiers desert
BBC
Fox urged to uphold conscientious objection in Armed Forces Bill
Parliament urged to end UK’s recruitment of ‘child soldiers’
Cadet school
Peace News