Comment, analysis, news

MoD study sets out how to sell wars to the public

07/10/2013

Guardian

Families angry at proposal to lower profile of repatriation ceremonies

On Army’s importance, differing views among young and old

03/10/2013

YouGov

As the British Army struggles to recruit new soldiers, YouGov polling finds that Britons tend to think less of the army's importance the younger they are

War crimes in video games should be punished, ICRC says

03/10/2013

NBCNews.com

The International Committee of the Red Cross have called for video games to punish crimes committed in battle by adhering to real-life international war conventions.

Should gamers be accountable for in-game war crimes?

03/10/2013

Guardian Games Blog

The Red Cross has told the BBC that it wants military-themed video games to adhere to real-life international laws


Anti-war activists battle to get their voices heard in WW1 centenary events

01/10/2013

Guardian

Campaigners challenge 'glorious conflict' narrative and plan to highlight treatment of conscientious objectors


Young soldiers ‘more likely to die’

22/08/2013

Evening Standard

Soldiers serving in Afghanistan who joined the Army at 16 are twice as likely to die than those who joined at 18 or above, a new report has claimed. Human rights groups Child Soldiers International and Forces Watch, who were behind the study, said the increased risk reflected the "disproportionately high" number of 16-year-olds who join front-line infantry roles.

ForcesWatch response to the Ministry of Defence’s statement, 22 August 2013

22/08/2013

ForcesWatch

In response to the paper, ‘Young age at Army enlistment is associated with greater war zone risks’, published by ForcesWatch and Child Soldiers International (August 2013), the Ministry of Defence have issued a statement. Here we respond to their points.

Youngest Army recruits pay highest price in Afghanistan, new report shows

21/08/2013

ForcesWatch and Child Soldiers International press release

The risk of fatality in Afghanistan for recruits who enlisted into the British Army aged 16 and completed training has been twice as high as it has for those enlisting at 18 or above, according to a study published today on behalf of human rights groups Child Soldiers International and ForcesWatch. The authors believe the increased risk reflects the disproportionately high number of 16 year olds who join front-line Infantry roles.

The Armed Forces Covenant in Action? Part 4: Education of service personnel

18/07/2013

http://www.parliament.uk

A new House of Commons Defence Committee report calls for improvements in service education and asks for further information is needed on why the Army is so dependent on recruiting personnel under the age of 18 years compared to the other two Services, and whether steps are being taken to reduce this dependency.

Almost 40% of army recruits have reading age of 11, MPs warn

18/07/2013

BBC

Almost two-fifths (39%) of recruits to the Army have the reading ability of an 11-year-old or lower, MPs have warned.