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Army recruitment of under-18s wastes £94 million every year, claims new report
ForcesWatch press release
The Ministry of Defence wastes up to £94 million every year training minors for army roles which could be filled more cost-effectively by adult recruits, according to a new report launched today by human rights groups Child Soldiers International and ForcesWatch.
Nuclear Weapons and Militarisation in the UK
ForcesWatch
A society has to be militarised for a government to justify the development and maintenance of nuclear weapons to its citizens; militarisation creates a culture of acceptance. It popularises military euphemisms such as ‘Defence’, ‘Security’, and – particularly relevant to nuclear weapons – ‘deterrent’, and makes it hard to for those challenging these to be seen as credible.
Combat soldiers more likely to commit violent crimes: study
Reuters
British soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan - particularly young men and those who have seen active combat - are more likely to commit violent crimes than their civilian counterparts, according to research published on Friday.
US military struggling to stop suicide epidemic among war veterans
The Guardian
Last year, more active-duty soldiers killed themselves than died in combat. And after a decade of deployments to war zones, the Pentagon is bracing for things to get much worse
Fifty troops commit suicide after Iraq and Afghanistan tours
The Telegraph
More than 50 members of the UK Armed Forces have committed suicide since serving in the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, figures suggest.
Charities pairing ex-military staff with disadvantaged pupils get £1.9m
The Guardian
Extra education cash for charities is part of Michael Gove's ambition to boost military ethos in schoolchildren
‘Remembrance Day poppies should be white’
Telegraph
White poppies should be worn on Remembrance Sunday rather than the traditional red poppy to commemorate civilian victims rather than Britain's military dead, actor Mark Rylance has said.
When soldiering gets sexy: the militarization of gender equality and sexual difference
openDemocracy
How does militarism change social and cultural expectations of gender roles and relations? This is a huge question. This article by Vron Ware considers three areas.
Bullying ‘seen as acceptable in Army’ as survey reveals every woman questioned was victim of unwanted attention
Telegraph
Bullying is perceived as “acceptable” among some in the Army, according to an internal report that found every single woman questioned said they had been the victim of unwanted sexual attention.