recruitment age
Army dreaming
The Army are exploiting adolescent vulnerabilities and utilising crude stereotypes in order to attract record numbers of young recruits. We should be concerned about the gap between the dream sold by these advertising campaigns and the reality of military life.
The British armed forces: Why raising the recruitment age would benefit everyone
2019
A briefing (Child Soldiers International, 2019) making the case for setting 18 as the minimum age for recruitment.
Conscription by poverty? Deprivation and army recruitment in the UK
August 2019
This report from the Child Rights International Network, Conscription by poverty? Deprivation and army recruitment in the UK, states that the UK is the only country in Europe to recruit from age 16 and more soldiers are recruited at 16 than any other age.
British army targets youngest and poorest for riskiest roles
22/08/2019CRIN press release
A new report from the Child Rights International Network shows that the British army is intentionally targeting young people from deprived backgrounds for the roles carrying the greatest risks in war.
Countering the Militarisation of Youth
An international network of organisations working to 'break the cycle of teaching violence to young people'. Run by War Resisters International.
Kids with guns
June 2019
Should the armed forces encourage young people to interact with weapons and military vehicles? Our new web resource looks at why is this happening and asks if it is right and how can it be challenged?
Issues relating to Service Complaints system and the youngest armed forces personnel
May 2019
In this written submission to the Defence Committee's inquiry into the work of the Service Complaints Ombudsman, we focus on how issues with the complaints system may affect the youngest serving personnel in the armed forces, particularly those under 18 years old, and recommend that the youngest members of the armed forces are considered as a distinct group in relation to the functioning of the service complaints system.
Selling the Military films
March 2019
At the launch event for our report with Medact on Selling the Military: A critical analysis of contemporary recruitment marketing in the UK, contributors and participants told us why they think this is an important issue. And a longer film of the presentation summarising the report.
Resources to use with political representatives
Contact your MP, other political representative or local union or political branch about the military involvement in education and raising the age of military recruitment.
Selling the military: A critical analysis of contemporary recruitment marketing in the UK
February 2019
This report, written by ForcesWatch and published with the public health charity Medact, analyses the way the armed forces market their careers to adolescents and young people, creating powerful messages that which exploit developmental vulnerabilities and social inequality, risking the health and well-being of recruits. Narratives of camaraderie and self-development also serve to promote an uncontroversial and depoliticised idea of the military more widely which promote self-fulfilment in the context of conflict.