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Army launches ‘rebranding’ and recruitment campaigns

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The Army is launching a publicity campaign to keep its work in the public eye, following the end of combat operations in Afghanistan.

The “Normal Day” campaign aims to explain to the public the roles the Army fulfils around the world.

It has been launched alongside a recruitment drive, aimed at attracting regulars and reserves. Both campaigns will cost a total of £7m.

Last year the Army only recruited 20 fully-trained reserves.

In its recruiting year 2013/14 it also missed its target for regulars – 6,198 recruits joined the Army, against a target of 9,382.

The rebranding campaign comes after a survey suggested 20% of Britons believe the Army is less relevant now than ever before.

This figure rises to 25% among the Army’s core recruitment audience, of those aged between 18 and 34.

When asked what ought to be the Army’s current priority, conflict came top with 34%, but when asked what should be a key task only 11% chose humanitarian aid and only 13% suggested it should be disaster relief.

The research was carried out by market research firm OnePoll between 12 and 19 December 2014, among 3,000 adults.

The “Normal Day” campaign will include three documentaries showing real-life examples of the impact that individual Army personnel have made to people’s lives in the UK, Kosovo and the Philippines.… Read more

UK soldiers of 16 ‘too young’

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The children’s commissioner for England has accused the armed forces of breaching the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by recruiting soldiers from the age of 16.

In an interview with The Sunday Times to mark the imminent end of her five-year term, Maggie Atkinson said: “You are too young to join the armed forces at 16. The convention says you shouldn’t be a child soldier . . . If you were serious about the convention, you would not expect them to join the armed services until they are 18.”… Read more

Armed Forces visit state schools as many as 20 times in two years

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FOUR out of five of Scotland’s state secondary schools had visits by the Armed Forces within a two year period, sparking claims they were related to recruitment.

Scotland’s largest teachers’ union said “disproportionate numbers of visits” to schools in areas of deprivation could raise concerns “over the motivation behind such a concerted PR drive”.

A report by pressure group Forces Watch and the EIS and based on figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act from the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force showed the military visited state secondary schools in Scotland an average of twice each year.

Visits were concentrated in the east of Scotland and the central belt. It said 31 schools in these areas were visited over 10 times during the period and six over 20 times.

The MoD said it would be “wrong and misleading” to claim the Armed Forces recruit in schools.

Earlier this year The Herald revealed how state school pupils in the most affluent areas are more likely to be visited by the armed forces than those in the poorest, new research has found.

The new report analyses the type of activities the Armed Forces provide in schools, with over one third of visits about promoting a career in the military.

… Read more

New report raises concerns about armed forces visits to Scottish schools

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A new report published today shows that the armed forces visited four fifths (83%) of state secondary schools within a two year period, between 2010-2012. The report argues that the purpose of many of the visits is related to recruitment into the armed forces.

The report is published by ForcesWatch and is based on figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act from the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.(2) It has been co-sponsored by the Educational Institute of Scotland which has expressed concerns that some armed forces visits may have a recruitment purpose.(3)

The figures show that the armed forces visited state secondary schools in Scotland an average of twice each year. Visits were concentrated in the east of Scotland and the central belt. Thirty-one state secondary schools in these areas were visited over 10 times during the period. Six schools were visited over 20 times.

The report also analyses the type of activities that the armed forces provide in schools. Over one third of visits were about promoting a career in the armed forces. Other activities are related to the curriculum or the personal development of students; although these activities are less obviously linked to recruitment, evidence suggests that they are likely to include a promotional element.… Read more

How should we teach remembrance at school?

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An excerpt from an article by David Aldridge in The Conversation, about his new paper on How Should We Teach Remembrance in Schools:

Anyone who reads the newspapers in the build up to the Armistice Day commemorations in the UK would be hard put to deny there are still many unanswered questions around the public event of remembrance.

Can war ever be celebrated, or is it essentially futile? Do remembrance rituals, symbols and ceremonies do more to romanticise warfare than bring home its horror? Does the event of remembrance exclude the sacrifice of those who died on the opposing side? Disagreement abounds on these issues and we are unlikely to see a public consensus any time soon.

We should also think carefully about the part our schools play in these public events. Questions about war and peace can be addressed critically and with an appreciation of their ambiguity and complexity, across the curriculum – particularly through history, English and religious education.

But when we are considering a school’s participation in the public event of “remembrance”, there is an additional moral component. What is to be “remembered” is something most of us did not experience first hand. Teachers involved in remembrance are therefore involved in communicating content that we agree ought to be remembered – and encouraging appropriate sentiments in relation to what is remembered.… Read more

“Catch-22”: Campaigners launch legal battle with MoD over recruitment of minors

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• Campaigners lodge claim for judicial review of “Catch-22” rules, which force youngest recruits to serve for longest
• New poll: public support for raising armed forces’ enlistment age to 18 continues to grow

Child Soldiers International today launched a claim for judicial review of the terms of enlistment of minors joining the Army. If successful, the claim would reduce by up to two years the minimum service period of those signing up under the age of 18.

Although minors have a right to be discharged before their 18th birthday, after this point the so-called “Catch-22” clause commits them to serve until they are at least 22 years old, regardless of their age when they joined. This means the youngest recruits have to serve for longest – 16-year-old recruits have a total minimum service period of six years, while 17-year-olds must serve for five. In contrast, adults can be discharged after just four years’ service. Lawyers acting for the campaign group claim this constitutes unlawful age discrimination in employment conditions, and violates the Equal Treatment Directive 2000/78/EC.

The legislation being challenged (the Army Terms of Service Regulations 2007, as amended) and similar previous legislation has been strongly criticised for over 20 years by parliamentary bodies including the Armed Forces Bill Select Committee and the Joint Committee on Human Rights.

… Read more

Armed Forces Day Kids with guns controversy at family celebration for British troops

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THERE are hook the duck stalls, fairground rides and countless ice-cream vans. But these are not the most popular attractions with the thousands of small children who descended on Stirling yesterday for Armed Forces Day. They seemed to prefer handling the high-velocity sniper rifle, getting to grips with an 81mm mortar or staring down the sights of a Starstreak II missile launcher, with its operator on hand to boast of its “multi-target capability” and 7km range.

THERE are hook the duck stalls, fairground rides and countless ice-cream vans.

But these are not the most popular attractions with the thousands of small children who descended on Stirling yesterday for Armed Forces Day.

They seemed to prefer handling the high-velocity sniper rifle, getting to grips with an 81mm mortar or staring down the sights of a Starstreak II missile launcher, with its operator on hand to boast of its “multi-target capability” and 7km range.

Private Martin Bruce had a busy day. The 22-year-old, who serves in the 5 Scots infantry battalion and has completed two tours of Afghanistan, has been manning the javelin anti-tank missile and launcher. “It’s been really popular,” he says. “The kids love it, especially switching to the nightsight.”

Asked how he feels about allowing children, some of whom are too young to go to school, to play with this deadly weapon, he responds: “It’s not going to do any harm.

… Read more

Quaker report opposes increasing militarisation

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“The stirring music, smart uniforms and synchronised marching that characterise Armed Forces Day are a glossy front behind which sits a deliberate strategy to manipulate the public,” says Quaker Sam Walton as a new report on the growing militarisation in Britain today is launched.

In the revealing report The new tide of militarisation produced by Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW), Armed Forces Day is described as one strand in a government strategy to reverse falling recruitment and declining public support for military interventions.

The report highlights how in the light of a waning appetite for public spending on war, the government target the public at their most susceptible. Through emphasising the risks that military personnel take, and their bravery, the need to support military personnel is confused with the need to support war.

Quakers believe in proper care and support for Armed Forces personnel, and all victims of war. Indeed, in 1947 Quakers were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their relief work. However this deliberate conflation of the need to support the personnel, with the need to support war, stifles democratic debate about the use of our armed forces in increasingly messy and controversial interventions abroad.

The report shows how initiatives such as Armed Forces day, the increasing presence of the military at other emotive national events, and efforts to increase the role of the military in education, such as the Troops to Teachers programme, and expansion of the Cadet Forces, are all part of a deliberate government strategy to increase militarisation in our society.… Read more

£1m for school cadets

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Bursary scheme will allocate money paid in fines by British banks caught up in the Libor rate-fixing scandal to state schools to help them offer thousands more children the chance to join military cadet forces.

State schools are to receive funding to help them offer thousands more children the chance to join military cadet forces, the Prime Minister will announce this week.

A £1 million bursary scheme will allocate money paid in fines by British banks caught up in the Libor rate-fixing scandal.

The scheme is designed to help state schools meet the costs of running combined cadet forces. The Government has already pledged almost £11 million to set up 100 units in schools by 2015. The extra money will help pay for running and staff costs, allowing schools to hire trained instructors. Pupils will also take part in expeditions and leadership training.

“Being a cadet is a fantastic opportunity that gives young people the skills they need to get on in life,” David Cameron said. “I want many more people to gain this type of experience no matter what their background.”

The £1 million will be matched by private sector contributions, with £300,000 already committed.

… Read more

Army training scheme for long-term unemployed may be extended

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Scheme piloted in Telford and Stoke can raise awareness of army reserve and make people more employable, says officer.

A pilot scheme in which long-term unemployed people take part in a month-long training programme run by the army could be rolled out nationally after it caught the attention of ministers, according to the army’s website.

The pilot project, which is “aimed at building self-esteem and skills”, has been completed by 31 people in two towns in the West Midlands, producing “excellent results”, according to the army.

Of 18 volunteers in Telford, 10 have subsequently applied to join the army reserve, and of 13 participants in Stoke-on-Trent, three have applied to join the regular army, four to join the army reserve and one to become a reserve officer.

Other areas identified for similar projects are Wolverhampton, Coventry and Walsall in the West Midlands.

The military has been stepping up other efforts to encourage jobless people to enlist. At the start of the year it launched a campaign called More than Meets the Eye with a series of recruitment clinics at jobcentres.

Thousands of regular soldiers are being made redundant under cost-cutting plans by the Ministry of Defence, which envisages the army of the future being much more reliant on reserves.… Read more