recruitment
Scottish Parliament asks for more information on military visits to schools after hearing from ForcesWatch
Back in March we asked Holyrood to ensure ‘guidance is provided to schools', ‘information is collected to provide public monitoring’ and ‘parents/guardians are consulted’ when it comes to visits by the military. Last week we gave evidence to the Public Petitions Committee.
UN observations on UK and childrens’ rights
June 2016
The Committee on the Rights of the Child recently reviewed the UK's position on implementing the articles and protocols of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. They made a number of recommendations relating to the armed forces recruitment of under-18s and the military's activities in schools.
Who goes there? Campaigners fight to keep military away from UK schools
31/08/2016The Guardian
The Guardian
Britain is the only EU country to enlist 16-year-olds into the armed services and, say objectors, it starts with access to the classroom.
5 Soldiers: The Body is the Frontline.
Lauren Bryden & Poppy Kohner explore the implications of Rosie Kay’s production of 5 Soldiers: The Body Is The Frontline, a dance piece exploring the ‘physicality’ of war and its effect on soldiers' bodies. While captivating and enlightening, does placing the body at the centre of the narrative of war obscure political comment on what these bodies do and, crucially, why they do it? The support of the production by the British Army and their presence at the event raises important questions about the role of the military in public arts spaces.
The British armed forces: Why parental consent safeguards are inadequate
2016
This briefing from Child Soldiers International explains why the armed forces cannot be confident that they routinely have the informed consent of parents before their child enlists, or that a child’s enlistment is “genuinely voluntary” in a meaningful sense.
‘Commonsense and Understanding’: Recommendations from the Defence Committee’s Duty of Care report that are still outstanding 10 years on
December 2015
This report highlights seven recommendations from the Defence Committee’s report Duty of Care: Third Report of Session 2004-05 which have not been partially or fully implemented, and around which substantial concerns remain.
This report then discusses the concept of 'in loco parentis' and 'moral obligation' with regard to the army's duty of care towards young recruits, noting that the Defence Committee were concerned in 2005 that the MoD distinguished too rigidly between legal and moral obligations, with the latter as less important.
In 2005, the Defence Committee discussed the lack of balance beween training needs and considerations for operational effectiveness, and thus made its recommendations. Ten years on, it is apparent that operational arguments, and current difficulties meeting recruiting targets, continue to prevent the armed forces from reviewing both their position on enlisting under-18s, and their recruitment practices and materials.
After ‘cannon fodder’ outcry … Holyrood urged to investigate military visits to schools
27/01/2016Sunday Herald
Sunday Herald
MSPs are being urged to hold an inquiry into the presence of the armed forces in Scotland’s schools after an outcry over plans to set up cadet units aimed at the poorest pupils.
RAF recruitment in schools
06/01/2016Hansard
Hansard
The MoD recently acknowledged that the RAF's Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths (STEM) road show in schools - run in partnership with the weapons company BAE Systems - is 'recruitment'.
London’s first ‘Military Preparation College’ opens
08/12/2015
London's first Military Preparation College - the UK's 18th - has been set up. ForcesWatch have a few concerns.
Army failing to attract young recruits
08/12/2015
The Army has failed to attract enough young recruits in 9 of the last 10 years, and is looking to change this by emphasising the Army's non-combat work. ForcesWatch are concerned this could lead to the further overlooking of the fact that combat is the raison d'être of the armed forces.