recruitment
Deepcut – another verdict; still more questions….
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.
The concerted effort to increase the power of the military across society must be challenged
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
War Hurts Everybody
Leicester for Peace report on their 'War hurts everybody' vigil at Leicester Armed Forces Day on was 23 June.
My thoughts exactly: UK army accused of dictating soldiers’ press statements
09/06/2018The Guardian
The Guardian
The army has been accused of manipulating teenage soldiers by spoonfeeding them identikit quotes to be used in local and regional newspaper articles extolling life in the military.
UK military school audit reveals teenage recruits at risk
09/06/2018The Guardian
The Guardian
Drive to fast-track late joiners at AFC Harrogate led to issues including skewing staff/student ratios in dangerous activities.
British army ads targeting ‘stressed and vulnerable’ teenagers
09/06/2018The Guardian
The Guardian
The British army has targeted recruitment material at “stressed and vulnerable” 16-year-olds via social media on and around GCSE results day, the Guardian can reveal.
Ministry of Defence misleading public over armed forces visits to schools
With the publication of the Scottish Parliament's Public Petitions Committee report on our petition on armed forces visits to schools, there has been substantial coverage in the news (see our round-up). The Ministry of Defence have said a number of things in response that are very disputable – this blog outlines some of the evidence.
Resisting militarisation in Leicester
We interviewed poet and campaigner Ambrose Musiyiwa for Peace News on militarisation in Leicester and how local people are acting to resist militarism.
An inclusive, emotionally supportive British Army? Not yet.
ForcesWatch comment on the 2018 British Army recruitment advertising campaign: We welcome any commitments and improvements the military makes to the welfare of soldiers but caution that the reality of military life is not accurately represented in this new campaign, and that the welfare of recruits into the Army should not be overlooked. A shorter version of this article is published by The Huffington Post
Take Action on Militarism: website and resource pack
October 2017
ForcesWatch have teamed up with Quaker Peace & Social Witness to produce a resource pack to help people take action on militarism in their communities. And there is a website to go with it where you can download the pack or order a hard copy, find links to more resources etc.