The nationwide survey found 72% of people who expressed a view believed young people should not be able to join the army until they are 18.
read more >>
Whats the problem?
Military recruitment: unethical
UK armed forces recruitment practices are largely unethical
- The armed forces target recruitment campaigns on disadvantaged young people, failing to properly inform them of the difficulties and obligations of a military career.
- The UK is the only EU country to recruit 16-year-olds into the armed forces.
- Recruits under 18 commit themselves to up to 6 year's service before they are adults.
- Adult recruits commit themselves for up to 4 year's service with a long notice period, and must join the reserves afterwards.
- Whilst some people join the armed forces for positive reasons, others sign up as a last resort because they can’t find another job.
- Recruits are not normally informed about their rights to express moral objections to military operations.
- Armed forces personnel face significant risks during service, including psychological harm, and many struggle to resettle into civilian life.
Unethical military recruitment practices
Recruiting child soldiers
Children as young as 15 years, 7 months can apply for the Army. The UK remains the only EU country to recruit 16 year olds into the military and one of very few EU countries to recruit 17 year olds. The UN and the UK Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights have requested that the UK reconsider its policy of recruitment of children into the military, that ethnic minorities and children of low-income families are not targeted, that parents are included in the process from the outset and that the limited discharge rights for child soldiers are reviewed.
Targeting the young & vulnerable
Non-officer recruitment draws mostly on young people from 16 years of age living in disadvantaged communities, with many recruits joining as a last resort. Increasingly, very young children are being targeted as potential recruits in schools and through the media, games and advertising. Research, and general observation, indicates that children are introduced to the potential benefits of a forces career but not to its risks, and that warfare is glamorised and sanitised
How the military interests and recruits young people
Many recruitment tools capitalise on the impressionability of young people by presenting a glamorous view of armed forces life without the risks, legal obligations and ethical issues involved.
These include:
- internet and TV campaigns such as ‘Start Thinking Soldier’
- recruitment offices and ‘army showrooms’
- bespoke computer games and access to military hardware in schools and local communities
- ‘career advisors’, school presentation and youth teams and other free resources offered to schools, youth and community groups
- the Camouflage Club and Altitude - information websites aimed at under 18s
- the Cadet forces
- MoD-sponsored toys and dressing-up clothes aimed at children as young as five.
We campaign to raise the age of recruitment into the armed forces to 18 years. See more here.
This campaign has the support of organisations concerned with the rights and welfare of children and young people, as well as a high level of public support. Child Soldiers International are also working to raise the age of recruitment.
We also hightlight concerns about the way that young people are recruited, focusing on military activity in schools.
Headteacher Chris Gabbett is one supporter of the campaign to raise the age of recruitment:
I am Principal at Trinity Catholic School in Leamington Spa and I fully support the initiative to raise the enlistment age for the British military from 16 to 18. At the age of 16, our young people are still, in so many ways, vulnerable. We use the term ‘young adults’ and it is in its own way misleading; they aren’t THAT young and they are DEFINETELY not adults. Rather, these are children who are still choosing the appropriate pathways to enable them to be consciously, politically and socially fully involved in an adult world. It is cavalier to offer by means of mitigation the fact that soldiers are not deployed until they are 18, nor to insist that such a pathway offers an alternative to unemployment, lack of education or training. Schools are now thoroughly equipped to offer a number of aspirational pathways to young people. Further, a young person who pursues further study to 18 will probably be in a position to make a more informed and mature decision, with deeper aptitude and greater resilience.
Read on recruitment
July 2018
July 2018
This poster on Everyday Militarism (designed by Abbey Thornton and produced by Quakers in Britain) features many aspects of current militarism in the UK. It is a great way to spark off conversation about the roots of war and the kind of society we need to build peace. Available as a download, or to order and there is also an interactive version. It comes with discussion notes.
April 2018
This submission made by ForcesWatch and Quakers in Scotland to the Scottish Parliament's human rights inquiry details our concerns around the need for regulation and transparent accountability of military activities in schools, the lack of education about peace and human rights, and the continued recruitment of children into the UK armed forces.
We refer to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, recommendations made by the Committee on the Rights of the Child for change in the UK's policy and practice, and support for our concerns by child rights organisations. We make a number of recommendations regarding how the Scottich Parliament can more vigorously support childrens rights in Scotland.
read more >>
March 2018
Written evidence submitted by ForcesWatch to the Defence Committee's Armed Forces and Veterans Mental Health Inquiry.
We conclude that:
More independent research, in anonymised conditions, needs to be carried out in a number of areas, including:
- The relationship between early enlistment (especially junior entry), prior vulnerabilities such as socio-economic disadvantage, and short and long-term health impacts.
- The connection between military training and mental ill-health.
- Developmental issues that affect adolescents in particular, for example in assessing and appreciating long-term risk and making an informed decision to enlist.
- Moral injury and how issues of conscience impact mental health.
Steps should be taken to improve legal procedures by which claims of harassment and bullying are investigated and incidents are reported within the military.
In order to avoid mental health risks to young soldiers, junior entry recruitment of those under 18 should end. There needs to be greater understanding about pre-enlistment risk factors for psychological ill-health such as socio-economic disadvantage and childhood adversity, and a consequent shift away from recruitment marketing that targets vulnerable groups.
read more >>
June 2017
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 report explains that the main purpose of army training is to mould young civilians as soldiers who will follow orders by reflex and kill on demand. It demands unquestioning obedience, stimulates aggression and antagonism, overpowers a healthy person’s inhibition to killing, and dehumanises the opponent in the recruit’s imagination. Recruits are taught that stressful situations are overcome through dominance.
The First Ambush? Effects of army training and employment (70pp) draws on veterans’ testimony and around 200 studies, mainly from the UK and US, to explore the effects of army employment on recruits, particularly during initial training.
May 2017
In early 2017, the Ministry of Defence, and Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon, praised the social mobility prospects offered by the military. They presented the military as a champion of social mobility for those who enlist in the lower ranks, and for recruits from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds with low educational attainment.
This briefing explores if these claims about social mobility stand up to scrutiny or whether enlisting in the armed forces can have a negative impact upon social mobility, particularly for very young recruits.
read more >>
January 2017
Army adverts don't tell you what being a soldier is really like.
At 17, Wayne Sharrocks joined the infantry. His training made him obey the army completely, until it had control of how he thought and what he did. He says that by the end of his training he could have killed another person right in front of him 'at the flick of a switch' with ‘an insane amount of aggression’. He now thinks army training is 'massively damaging' to the mind of a young person.
After he turned 18 Wayne was sent to Afghanistan. There he saw a friend’s legs ripped off and another friend killed. He was injured in the face. Nothing in his training could protect him or his friends.
He couldn't just ‘switch off’ his army training after he left, he says, which caused him all sorts of problems.
Now Wayne thinks that the army shouldn’t be recruiting 16 and 17 year-olds. While it still does, he believes it's better to wait until you’re 18 before deciding whether to join up.
Find out about Wayne's time in the army in these 3-minute videos:
read more >>
October 2016
Medact’s report on the long-term impacts of the British military’s recruitment of children under the age of 18, presents evidence linking ‘serious health concerns’ with the policy, and calls for a rise in the minimum recruitment age.
The report’s findings include:
- Child recruits are more vulnerable to PTSD, alcohol abuse, self-harm, suicide, death and injury during an armed forces career when compared to adult recruits.
- Military recruitment marketing takes advantage of adolescent cognitive and psychosocial vulnerabilities.
- The current practices for recruiting children in to the British armed forces do not meet the criteria for full and informed consent.
- Those recruited as children, upon turning 18, are more likely than adult recruits to end up in frontline combat roles which carry greater risks than other roles.
The UK is one only a handful of countries worldwide to still allow recruitment from age 16, a policy which has been strongly criticised by multiple UN and UK parliamentary bodies, child rights organisations and human rights groups.
read more >>Ask your MP to support raising the age of recruitment
Thinking of joining up / already in the forces
Before You Sign Up is a vital resource for those with questions about the consequences of enlisting in the military. At Ease is a voluntary organisation providing advice and information to members of the Armed Forces. For more information on these independent sources of advice and for other things to look at, see our before you enlist page.
also see
09/09/2018 The Guardian
Recruitment drive focuses on teenagers seeking adrenaline, says Child Soldiers International
08/09/2018 The Observer
Petition launched after members claim partnership with military runs counter to the Guides’ peace ethos
29/07/2018 The Guardian
ICM survey was commissioned by campaigners against child soldiers
25/07/2018 ForcesWatch press release
The Defence Select Committee recommended that the Ministry of Defence ‘conducts or commissions further research into female personnel, early Service leavers and recruits under 18 to determine the extent to which they are at higher risk of developing mental health conditions.’
08/06/2018 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.
15/05/2018 The Guardian
Drive to fast-track late joiners at AFC Harrogate led to issues including skewing staff/student ratios in dangerous activities.
06/05/2018 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.
20/03/2018
On the day that the Harrogate abuse court martials were dropped and the press was allowed to comment after reporting restrictions were lifted, there was coverage in almost all the major news outlets. Our comments, and those of partner organisations, were also reported.
09/10/2017 Various
A passionate debate was held on Sunday 8 October at the SNP Conference on Raising the Minimum Age of Military Recruitment to 18. The motion was passed!
26/09/2017 The Conversation
This article by. Lecturer in Global Ethics at the University of Birmingham, explores the dangers involved in miltary activity in schools and for the youngest recruits. It emphasises the moral risks and the 'moral exploitation' involved.
12/09/2017 Various
A letter to the Guardian (12/09/17) from more than 50 academics has called for the age of recruitment ot the UK armed forces to be raised to 18. It backs a conference motion from SNP Youth in support of this.
10/07/2017 The Guardian and The Independent
The Army's latest recruitment campaign focuses on low income families from cities with high deprivation levels.
13/06/2017 Huffington Post
"Joining at 16 is massively psychologically damaging and issues of PTSD, suicide and depression are major issues for veterans, and more so for teenage recruits. I think it is hugely important the recruitment age is raised. I now work with Veterans for Peace as a volunteer educating young people on the realities of war and support advocacy group Child Soldiers International, who recently launched its Declare18! campaign, to get governments to raise the age to 18." By Wayne Sharrocks, former British Army officer
Legal obligations & human rights
Employment in the armed forces is unique in placing severe restrictions on rights and freedoms that are available to the rest of the UK population. The armed forces are also the only employers in the UK who legally require their employees to commit themselves for several years, with the risk of a criminal conviction if they try to leave sooner.
This situation is all the more worrying given that the majority of recruits are very young. There is also evidence that many personnel are unclear about the length of their commitment and their rights to leave and that the information they receive can be misleading.
ForcesWatch are campaigning to improve terms of service and increase awareness amongst recruits of what they are signing up for. See more here.
CAMPAIGN UPDATE: On 19 June 2011, the government announced that it would give teenage soldiers the right to leave the armed forces up until age 18 if they are unhappy. With other organisations, ForcesWatch has been campaigning for under-18s to have the right to leave the forces, and we welcome this development - see more. This is a significant improvement on the current situation which gives under 18s the right to leave only between the 2nd and 6th month of service. Additionally, the legislation allows for a possible reduction in the notice period of 12 months for those aged over 18. These changes came into force in July 2011 - read more here. We will continue to monitor whether recruits are made aware of these new rights.
The information below reflects these recent changes.
The basics
- the minimum length of service is at least 4 years, and up to 6 years for those joining before they are 18
- the notice period for leaving the forces is very long - a year in the army or navy and 18 months in the RAF. NEW - new regulations since 2011 allow adults the possibility of having their 12 month notice period reduced by up to 6 months at the discretion of their commanding officer. See more here.
- recruits may be required to serve for longer than the usual period if they undertake education or training other than their initial training
- on leaving full time service personnel are transferred into the reserves which usually lasts for six years. The army has the right to call up reservists for any reason for up to sixteen days in the year. All three forces may call up reserves for longer periods during emergencies, or when the Defence Secretary judges there is a national need.
- recruits have a discharge as of right (DAOR) at certain points in their early days in the forces which allows them to leave by giving fourteen days' notice. For those joining the army aged over 18, they can leave after 28 days' service, but before three months' service. For those joining before they are 18, they can leave after 28 days' service but before six months' service. NEW - new regulations since 2011 give under 18 year olds the right to give 3 months' notice to leave any time before their 18th birthday. By mutual consent the 3 months' notice may be reduced. See more here.
- for most recruits, their entitlement to DAOR elapses during the period of training and preparation and before they have had any experience of the frontline.
The army’s six-year trap for under-18s’
- You are NOT allowed to leave during the first month of service.
- You may then give 14 days’ notice and leave – but only between the second and sixth month of service.
- You do not have a right to buy yourself out.
- Your right to leave after 14 days' notice in writing expires six months after your first day in the Army.
- After six months service, and before your 18th birthday, you can give 3 months notice in writing. If you do not leave then, you must remain in the army full time until you are 22 years old.
- If you leave full time Army service when you are 22 or older, you will be in the Reserves for another six years. During that time you may be recalled for Army service or training.
- If you go absent without leave you will be liable for punishment by detention. The length of time absent may then be added to the release date after age 22.
- You may not be free to leave, even when you are over 22, if you go on an education or training course.
Confusion about rights
Evidence suggests that many recruits are unaware of the exact committment that they are signing up to and the procedures for leaving. The recruitment literature does not mention many of the legal obligations and the Notice Paper, which recruits sign on joining the forces, sets out their terms and conditions in language that is often unclear and technical.The right to conscientious objection is not mentioned.
There is particular confusion over discharge as of right for under 18s and the discharge of 'unhappy minors' from the services. New legislation from 2011 allows under 18s to leave the forces as a right if they are unhappy (see more here) but it is not yet known if young people in the armed forces are being informed of this.
Human rights
Members of the armed forces face considerable restrictions on political freedoms that are taken for granted by most of the population. They are not permitted to join a trade union or a political organisation, to speak to the media or in public without permission or to stand for elected office.
We campaign to raise the age of recruitment into the armed forces to 18 years. See more here.
This campaign has the support of organisations concerned with the rights and welfare of children and young people, as well as a high level of public support. Child Soldiers International are also working to raise the age of recruitment.
We also hightlight concerns about the way that young people are recruited, focusing on military activity in schools.
Headteacher Chris Gabbett is one supporter of the campaign to raise the age of recruitment:
I am Principal at Trinity Catholic School in Leamington Spa and I fully support the initiative to raise the enlistment age for the British military from 16 to 18. At the age of 16, our young people are still, in so many ways, vulnerable. We use the term ‘young adults’ and it is in its own way misleading; they aren’t THAT young and they are DEFINETELY not adults. Rather, these are children who are still choosing the appropriate pathways to enable them to be consciously, politically and socially fully involved in an adult world. It is cavalier to offer by means of mitigation the fact that soldiers are not deployed until they are 18, nor to insist that such a pathway offers an alternative to unemployment, lack of education or training. Schools are now thoroughly equipped to offer a number of aspirational pathways to young people. Further, a young person who pursues further study to 18 will probably be in a position to make a more informed and mature decision, with deeper aptitude and greater resilience.
must read on legal obligations & human rights
April 2018
This submission made by ForcesWatch and Quakers in Scotland to the Scottish Parliament's human rights inquiry details our concerns around the need for regulation and transparent accountability of military activities in schools, the lack of education about peace and human rights, and the continued recruitment of children into the UK armed forces.
We refer to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, recommendations made by the Committee on the Rights of the Child for change in the UK's policy and practice, and support for our concerns by child rights organisations. We make a number of recommendations regarding how the Scottich Parliament can more vigorously support childrens rights in Scotland.
read more >>
June 2017
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 report explains that the main purpose of army training is to mould young civilians as soldiers who will follow orders by reflex and kill on demand. It demands unquestioning obedience, stimulates aggression and antagonism, overpowers a healthy person’s inhibition to killing, and dehumanises the opponent in the recruit’s imagination. Recruits are taught that stressful situations are overcome through dominance.
The First Ambush? Effects of army training and employment (70pp) draws on veterans’ testimony and around 200 studies, mainly from the UK and US, to explore the effects of army employment on recruits, particularly during initial training.
March 2016
Published by Child Soldiers International, this short and accessible booklet addresses questions often raised about under-18s in the armed forces, presenting the facts - based on extensive research - rather than the fiction. Also contains very useful quotes and statistics. Great when talking to your MP or for those thinking of enlisting!
Despite this widespread unease about the policy of recruiting 16 and 17 years olds into the armed forces, a number of common misconceptions still lead many under-18s to leave their education early and enlist. This booklet examines these ‘myths’ in light of the evidence available.
‘The fact that the British armed forces continue to recruit from the age of 16 sets a poor example internationally and impedes global efforts to end the use of child soldiers. The Army surely does not need to make youngsters sign up formally at such a young age – there have to be other, better ways to meet our requirements whilst respecting our human rights obligations.’
Major General (retd) Tim Cross CBE
read more >>Ask your MP to support raising the age of recruitment
Thinking of joining up / already in the forces
Before You Sign Up is a vital resource for those with questions about the consequences of enlisting in the military. At Ease is a voluntary organisation providing advice and information to members of the Armed Forces. For more information on these independent sources of advice and for other things to look at, see our before you enlist page.
more info & advice
For more on terms of service and the risks involved with being in the armed forces see guidance.
see also
24/11/2016 Child Soldiers International press release
16/12/2015 ForcesWatch press release
24/11/2014 Support for Britain's Reservists & Employers (SaBRE)
08/10/2014 Child Soldiers International press release
Risks
Significant risks
The majority of recent deaths in Afghanistan have been among the infantry. Younger recruits from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to join the infantry so they face the greatest risk. In addition to the risk of death or serious injury, many suffer post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental problems on return and experience other difficulties once back in civilian life, including harmful drinking and addiction, relationship breakdown, and a greater risk of suicide for young men.
Dissatisfaction
An inability to leave the forces legally before several years have elapsed almost certainly contributes to the number of personnel going absent without leave (AWOL). In the last 10 years, between 2000 and 3000 serving personnel have gone AWOL each year, mainly from the army.Those going AWOL risk a criminal conviction and punishment by detention.
Some resort to self harm, taking drugs to get caught and suicide attempts in order to find a way out.
The Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey reports that only about one third of armed forces personnel felt valued. About one fifth were dissatisfied with their job – that is many thousands of serving personnel who are likely to want to leave if they were able to.
read more on risks
This submission made by ForcesWatch and Quakers in Scotland to the Scottish Parliament's human rights inquiry details our concerns around the need for regulation and transparent accountability of military activities in schools, the lack of education about peace and human rights, and the continued recruitment of children into the UK armed forces.
We refer to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, recommendations made by the Committee on the Rights of the Child for change in the UK's policy and practice, and support for our concerns by child rights organisations. We make a number of recommendations regarding how the Scottich Parliament can more vigorously support childrens rights in Scotland.
read more >>Written evidence submitted by ForcesWatch to the Defence Committee's Armed Forces and Veterans Mental Health Inquiry.
We conclude that:
More independent research, in anonymised conditions, needs to be carried out in a number of areas, including:
- The relationship between early enlistment (especially junior entry), prior vulnerabilities such as socio-economic disadvantage, and short and long-term health impacts.
- The connection between military training and mental ill-health.
- Developmental issues that affect adolescents in particular, for example in assessing and appreciating long-term risk and making an informed decision to enlist.
- Moral injury and how issues of conscience impact mental health.
Steps should be taken to improve legal procedures by which claims of harassment and bullying are investigated and incidents are reported within the military.
In order to avoid mental health risks to young soldiers, junior entry recruitment of those under 18 should end. There needs to be greater understanding about pre-enlistment risk factors for psychological ill-health such as socio-economic disadvantage and childhood adversity, and a consequent shift away from recruitment marketing that targets vulnerable groups.
read more >>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 report explains that the main purpose of army training is to mould young civilians as soldiers who will follow orders by reflex and kill on demand. It demands unquestioning obedience, stimulates aggression and antagonism, overpowers a healthy person’s inhibition to killing, and dehumanises the opponent in the recruit’s imagination. Recruits are taught that stressful situations are overcome through dominance.
The First Ambush? Effects of army training and employment (70pp) draws on veterans’ testimony and around 200 studies, mainly from the UK and US, to explore the effects of army employment on recruits, particularly during initial training.
In early 2017, the Ministry of Defence, and Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon, praised the social mobility prospects offered by the military. They presented the military as a champion of social mobility for those who enlist in the lower ranks, and for recruits from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds with low educational attainment.
This briefing explores if these claims about social mobility stand up to scrutiny or whether enlisting in the armed forces can have a negative impact upon social mobility, particularly for very young recruits.
read more >>This article, written by Child Soldiers International and published in the Royal United Service Institute Journal, argues that raising the UK enlistment age from 16 to 18 would bring benefits to young people and the British armed forces. The article explains that the UK’s low enlistment age is counterproductive internationally, as it implies to other countries that it is acceptable to use children under the age of 18 to staff national armed forces.
Medact’s report on the long-term impacts of the British military’s recruitment of children under the age of 18, presents evidence linking ‘serious health concerns’ with the policy, and calls for a rise in the minimum recruitment age.
The report’s findings include:
- Child recruits are more vulnerable to PTSD, alcohol abuse, self-harm, suicide, death and injury during an armed forces career when compared to adult recruits.
- Military recruitment marketing takes advantage of adolescent cognitive and psychosocial vulnerabilities.
- The current practices for recruiting children in to the British armed forces do not meet the criteria for full and informed consent.
- Those recruited as children, upon turning 18, are more likely than adult recruits to end up in frontline combat roles which carry greater risks than other roles.
The UK is one only a handful of countries worldwide to still allow recruitment from age 16, a policy which has been strongly criticised by multiple UN and UK parliamentary bodies, child rights organisations and human rights groups.
read more >>
Published by Child Soldiers International, this short and accessible booklet addresses questions often raised about under-18s in the armed forces, presenting the facts - based on extensive research - rather than the fiction. Also contains very useful quotes and statistics. Great when talking to your MP or for those thinking of enlisting!
Despite this widespread unease about the policy of recruiting 16 and 17 years olds into the armed forces, a number of common misconceptions still lead many under-18s to leave their education early and enlist. This booklet examines these ‘myths’ in light of the evidence available.
‘The fact that the British armed forces continue to recruit from the age of 16 sets a poor example internationally and impedes global efforts to end the use of child soldiers. The Army surely does not need to make youngsters sign up formally at such a young age – there have to be other, better ways to meet our requirements whilst respecting our human rights obligations.’
Major General (retd) Tim Cross CBE
read more >>
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 goes on to present additional evidence and arguments about the experience of the youngest recruits.
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.
read more >>ForcesWatch's submission to the Defence Select Committee inquiry on Military Casualties draws on our research published in The Last Ambush and concludes that:
- The continued targeted recruitment of minors from disadvantaged backgrounds deserves to be re-appraised from the perspective of long-term mental health risks that this group faces.
- Where possible, we hope that the development of military health research will better specify personnel who face higher and lower risks.
- Future research could also better account for personnel who show some symptoms of mental ill-health but are not counted as full ‘cases’ of a specific ‘disorder’.
- A large number of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are likely to need mental health support services for years to come. It falls to the state to take prime responsibility for ensuring that the long-term welfare needs of injured veterans are met. That is an expensive undertaking, which it behoves any government to appreciate and accept before deciding whether to send young men and women to war
This report from ForcesWatch, shows that young soldiers recruited from disadvantaged backgrounds are substantially more likely than other troops to return from war experiencing problems with their mental health. It calls for the policy of recruiting from age 16 to be reviewed so that the greatest burden of risk is not left to the youngest, most vulnerable recruits to shoulder.
read more >>Ask your MP to support raising the age of recruitment
Thinking of joining up / already in the forces
Before You Sign Up is a vital resource for those with questions about the consequences of enlisting in the military. At Ease is a voluntary organisation providing advice and information to members of the Armed Forces. For more information on these independent sources of advice and for other things to look at, see our before you enlist page.
more info & advice
For more on terms of service and the risks involved with being in the armed forces see guidance.
news on risks associated with the armed forces
10/11/2018 ForcesWatch comment
25/07/2018 ForcesWatch press release
24/07/2018 ForcesWatch comment
ethical dilemmas and conscientious objection
Taking an active part in conflict involves serious ethical questions regarding the justification of killing and the political purposes of military action. The armed forces does not adequately address these concerns during recruitment and for serving personnel.
Active service and exposure to warfare can radically alter a person’s values and beliefs and lead to the development of an objection to further service. Although the armed forces recognise the right of serving personnel to be discharged if they develop a conscientious objection, this right is not set out clearly in legislation, is not mentioned in the terms of service, the process of declaring an objection on moral grounds is very opaque and many, perhaps most, forces personnel are unaware of it.
The system for registering a conscientious objection needs to be far easier to access and the different types of conscientious objection need to be fully recognised.
There is evidence that many more soldiers have objected to recent military activity than officially recorded. Discharges due to conscientious objection are rare with personnel encouraged to suppress their concerns, be discharged on other grounds or find other ways of leaving such as going absent without leave. High profile cases of court martial and detention of those who have refused to obey orders based on moral objections are set to deter others and also hinder understanding of an individual’s right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
ForcesWatch are campaigning to increase awareness of conscientious objection and make the process of applying for it more transparent. See more here.
supporting conscientious objectors
Conscientious objector, Michael Lyons has been released (9 Nov 2011). Michael, a medic in the Royal Navy, was sentenced to 7 months detention on 5 July 2011, for 'wilful disobedience' for not taking part in rifle training while his request for discharge as a conscientious objector was proceeding.
Michael joined up at 18 after seeing a TV advert depicting the Navy providing humanitarian aid overseas. At that age he was unaware of the realities of war. His desire to help people and his growing awareness in current affairs, determined his application to become a conscientious objector.
On 13 Oct 2011, an appeal against Michael's detention was held at the High Court (read press release). Although the appeal was unsuccessful, the judges expressed some concerns about the procedure for conscientious objectors. Michael is still awaiting the full written judgement.
- See articles and press releases about Michael
- Read the article by Lillian Lyons (Michael's wife) on how Michael became a conscientious objector
- Check out Michael's Facebook page.
ForcesWatch, along with other groups, have provided support for Michael and his family during his case. Michael also received many, many letters and cards, from people who wished to show their support for him during his detention. He has now left the Navy and looks forward to pursuing a career in the medical services.
read on conscientious objection
March 2013
The Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights has published a guide to applicable international standards and jurisprudence relating to conscientious objection to military service.
November 2011
July 2011
January 2011
February 2010
see more on conscientious objection
Guardian Data has extracted details of 654 records from the National Archive to look at who conscientiously objected to the first world war and why
ForcesWatch's submission to the Armed Forces Bill committee raising concerns relating to the human rights of service personnel with the Armed Forces Bill Committee and making a number of recommendations to bring the UK into line with current international standards and improve terms of service.
read more >>
The Winter Soldier project, organised by the United States based group, Iraq Veterans Against War, details eyewitness accounts from Iraq and Afghanistan. Much of the testimony focuses on the individual soldier’s experience and how they felt about their participation and actions. Six episodes have been created for web viewing (or can be downloaded), e.g. Broken Soldier which tells the stories of 3 soldiers.
This archive and educational materials resource has an extensive collection of materials which tell the stories of the men and women conscientious objectors of the 20th century. It documents their experiences, videos their recollections, promotes their ideals and publishes teaching resources.
read more >>"An armed forces career involves ethical questions associated with the justification of killing, the risk of civilian casualties and the political purposes of military action. In order to make a responsible choice about enlistment, all potential recruits need to have considered these issues before accepting the legal obligations of service, and to continue to do so during their career. In omitting to mention ethical dilemmas, the army recruitment literature and applications process fail to support potential recruits in making an informed decision about enlistment in this respect."
Informed Choice? Armed forces recruitment practice in the United Kingdom
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Critical debate
There is concern that some government initiatives, such as Armed Forces Day, seek to manufacture a climate of uncritical national pride in the armed forces in order to garner public support for foreign policy. Unqualified support of the military and foreign policy stigmatises legitimate concerns about how young people are recruited for the armed forces within our communities, and limits debate on alternatives to war. Widespread critical awareness of the risks and legal obligations of an armed forces career is essential if young people are to make an informed, responsible choice about enlistment.
Critical debate: vital
- Do government projects like Armed Forces Day honour armed forces personnel or seek to manufacture public support for military intervention overseas?
- Does uncritical support for the military stifle concerns about how young people are recruited and limit debate on alternatives to war?
- Is it appropriate for the military to be visiting schools when their objective is clearly stated as recruitment and influencing young people and should the military be involved in providing education alternatives?
- Why is the UK the only EU country to recruit 16 year olds into the armed forces and one of very few to recruit 17 year olds? There is a growing international concensus the only adults should be recruited, yet the Ministry of Defence have denied that there is a need to review this policy.
- In order to make informed and responsible choices about enlisting, young people and their parents need to be fully aware of the risks and legal obligations of military careers.
- Armed conflict causes enormous damage to all involved; widespread public debate about the role of the armed forces and their recruitment practices is therefore vital.
See more on our work to change the law on recruitment of under-18s into the military and other issues
See more on our Military Out Of Schools campaign
See more on our work looking at the military in society more generally
Militarisation in everyday life in the UK
An event in October 2013 which brought together academics, writers, activists and campaigners who are researching, writing, campaigning on the implications of militarisation of UK society. See more here including background reading and films of presentations.
At a comfortable distance from warfare, our culture easily passes over its horrific reality in favour of an appealing, even romantic, spectacle of war. Yet, over the last decade, most Britons have opposed Western military ventures abroad. This book takes a fresh look at a culture of militarism in Britain, public resistance to it, and the government's prodigious efforts to regain control of the story we tell ourselves about war. See details & buy book
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