risks
Bullying in armed forces on rise, MoD figures reveal
04/03/2014The Guardian
The Guardian
Call for urgent overhaul of military justice as MP highlights plight of servicewomen alleging sexual offences
ForcesWatch submission to Defence Select Committee inquiry on Military Casualties
March 2014
ForcesWatch's submission to the Defence Select Committee inquiry on Military Casualties draws on our research published in The Last Ambush.
Militarisation in everyday life in the UK: a conference report
In response to the recent developments in the UK, there has been an increase in critical academic studies, media coverage, and work by campaigning organisations and others on these issues. On 19 October 2013, around 70 academics, activists, campaigners, and writers came together in London at the Militarisation in Everyday Life in the UK conference organised by ForcesWatch.
Welsh bishops urge army to raise enlistment age to 18
08/11/2013Wales Online
Wales Online
The Ministry of Defence has come under pressure from the Church in Wales and campaign group Child Soldiers International which is calling for an end to recruitment of under-18s to the Army
Bishops attack army on recruitment of minor while teen enlistment figures plummet
08/11/2013Child Soldiers International
Child Soldiers International
Recruitment of 16-year-olds down 40% on previous year; former Armed Forces minister says “Time is right” to review recruitment age
Open letter to Minister of State for the Armed Forces on armed forces recruitment age
08/11/2013
"We call for the minimum recruitment age to be returned to 18 years. This would be a fitting memorial to those thousands who, whether unlawfully recruited as minors during the First World War or recruited to fight in other conflicts, were exposed to death, injury and trauma that no child should ever experience."
Raising the age of recruitment: an open letter and a cautious welcome of the MoD review
ForcesWatch are among 24 signatories of an open letter to Mark Francois MP, Minister of State for the Armed Forces which calls for an end to the recruitment of under-18s.. The signatories include the Church of Scotland, the Church in Wales, the Unitarian Church and Catholic, Baptist, Methodist and Quaker groups and Child Soldiers International. The letter notes that as the centenary of the outbreak of World War One approaches, the recruitment and deployment age of British soldiers is lower now than it was a century ago. The signatories call on the Ministry to raise the recruitment age to 18 as a “fitting memorial” to the thousands of young soldiers killed in World War One.
Mental health warning for young soldiers
05/11/2013British Forces News film report
British Forces News film report
Young soldiers from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to suffer from mental health problems, according to a report out today published by lobby group Forces Watch.
PTSD report finds veterans from disadvantaged backgrounds most at risk
05/11/2013Wales Online
Wales Online
Forces Watch report calls for the minimum age of recruitment to be raised to 18 to avoid exposing the youngest soldiers to the most trauma
Defence ministry does cost-benefit analysis of recruiting under 18s
02/11/2013The Guardian
The Guardian
After telling the Guardian it would not be revisiting its recruitment policy the MoD is doing exactly that