If you are thinking of enlisting into the armed forces, or someone you know is, look at the information below to help become fully informed.
If you only look at one thing, check out Before You Sign Up which is an independent website looking at the pros and cons of joining the army and answers a number of common questions.
Child Rights International Network (CRIN) are leading the campaign to raise the age of recruitment into the UK armed forces and research about the experience of 16 and 17 year old recruits in the army. You can find their briefings, reports and other materials here, including a briefing about parental consent. See their information for young people.
Soldiers at 16 – The other side of the story
Army adverts don't tell you what being a soldier is really like.
Before You Sign Up
An independent website, setting out the pros and cons of enlisting in the UK armed forces and other advice. Contact us for a batch of these cards. Go to beforeyousignup.info
Selling the Military films
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.
Selling the military: A critical analysis of contemporary recruitment marketing in the UK
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.
Animated poem about the military recruitment of young people
A spoken work poem by artist Potent Whisper, animator Neda Ahmadi, and sound designers Torch & Compass on the military recruitment of young people. See more from CRIN on Should the armed forces recruit children under the age of 18? including a comparison to a recent army recruitment advert and a learning resource from the Quakers in Britain peace education team, to encourage critical thinking about armed forces recruitment and its relationship to human rights.
Conscription by poverty? Deprivation and army recruitment in the UK
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.
The First Ambush: Effects of army training and employment
This report from Veterans For Peace UK details how the Army's training process has a forceful impact on attitudes, health, and behaviour even before recruits are sent to war. The findings show that military training and culture combine with pre-existing issues (such as a childhood history of anti-social behaviour) to increase the risk of violence and alcohol misuse. Traumatic war experiences further exacerbate the problem.
The Armed Forces (Terms of Service) (Amendment) Regulations 2011
New legislation (from 22 July 2011) which grants under 18s the right to leave after a 'cooling off' period. Prior to this, discharge of 'unhappy minors' was at the discretion of the commanding officer.
Before you enlist: the film
“Before You Enlist!” provides a rational voice to counter the seductive and often deceptive recruiting practices of the U.S. military. The message is not “don’t enlist” but rather to provide young people and their families a more complete picture of the life-altering consequences of joining the military – especially in wartime. Latest version: 2018. This short film is from the US so many of the details about recruitment are different from the UK, but the general questions to ask 'before you enlist' are similar.
