British sailor denied right to conscientious objection as world marks CO Day
ForcesWatch press release
Only a few days after International Conscientious Objectors’ Day on Sunday (15 May), a member of the Royal Navy with moral objections to the war in Afghanistan will be tried for ‘wilful disobedience’.
Navy medic may face 10-year sentence for ‘disobedience’: Plight of conscientious objectors highlighted by man who refused rifle training
A Royal Navy medic with ethical objections to the Afghanistan war could face up to 10 years in prison after refusing to undergo rifle training. The Navy will hold a preliminary court-martial hearing against Michael Lyons on Friday.
Campaigners see the court martial as the Navy's attempt to deter other service personnel opposing military duty on grounds of conscience, religion or freedom of thought.
Child soldiers ‘jailed’ for going AWOL despite MoD policy
Channel 4 News
Armed forces report reveals MPs’ confusion over recruitment of under-18s
ForcesWatch press release
The report by the House of Commons Committee on the Armed Forces Bill has rejected proposals to raise the minimum age of recruitment to 18. But ForcesWatch, an NGO that submitted evidence to the Committee, suggests that the wording of the report reveals a lack of clarity over the law in this area, even among MPs and senior military personnel.
‘Boy soldiers’ artwork shown outside Parliament
A three-dimensional art installation depicting child soldiers is being displayed outside the Houses of Parliament as part of a peace campaign.
From hero to zero
Cadet forces to be expanded in state schools
Telegraph
Military 'spirit' is to be encouraged in classrooms with the expansion of cadet forces in state schools.
Armed Forces personnel to go into schools, Conservatives pledge
Telegraph
Service men and women will go into schools to mentor young tearaways, while troops will receive free teacher training and university tuition, the Conservatives will pledge.
One in 10 Army recruits ‘bullied and intimidated’
A decade after Deepcut, MoD reports reveal failure to tackle problem affecting hundreds of trainees.
Conscience and the military
Ekklesia
Armed forces chaplains play a crucial role in providing pastoral support to people who face danger and death on a daily basis. But chaplains' independence is compromised by the fact that they are members of the forces themselves.