SNP adopt #MakeIt18
10/10/2017
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!
Is pushing the cadets really in pupils’ best interests?
09/10/2017
Cadet units are not a social panacea but a recruitment tool. Our article, published in Schools Week, critiques the social impact report being used by the MoD to validate the expansion of cadets in state schools.
ForcesWatch comment
The Ministry of Defence has no place in our schools
07/10/2017
Children don’t need militarism. They need a decent learning environment, writes Rhianna Louise. Our piece in The Morning Star about the latest announcement of more cadet units in schools and the problematic social impact report that has been published to support this.
ForcesWatch comment
From the classroom to the frontline – schools must be careful what they teach kids about the army
06/10/2017
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.
The Conversation
Innovation not conformity
06/10/2017
Dr Brian Belton, a leading international authority on youth work, gives his thoughts on the report: What is the social impact resulting from the expenditure on cadets? He argues that, 'the modern world does not require conformity, it demands innovation'.
Dr Brian Belton and ForcesWatch
Why We Must Take Children Out Of Military Environments
22/09/2017
With former 17 former Army Foundation College Harrogate instructors facing court martial for mistreating recruits- including actual bodily harm and battery, we look at the evidence that military environment facilitate threats to child welfare. This article was first published on Huffington Post
ForcesWatch comment
Academics: Armed forces are no place for 16-year-olds
13/09/2017
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.
Various
Arms companies and immorality in education
08/09/2017
ForcesWatch comment
As the largest arms fair in the world takes place in London, we explore how arms companies have become part of the education system in the UK, despite the concerns for human rights and corruption that surround the defence and security industry.
Make Art Not War… or both?
30/08/2017
Poppy Kohner
Poppy Kohner examines the Army@theFringe season at the Edinburgh Festival and asks what becomes censored when elite institutions take on the programming and hosting of the arts.
British Army targets working class kids
13/07/2017
The Army's latest recruitment campaign focuses on low income families from cities with high deprivation levels.
The Guardian and The Independent