recruitment age

ForcesWatch response to the Ministry of Defence’s statement about The Last Ambush, 28 October 2013

In response to The Last Ambush report, the Ministry of Defence has issued a statement containing some claims that are either inaccurate or not relevant to the report’s findings. Here we respond to each claim in turn.

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‘Catch them young before the army loses them’

by David Gee in Sowing Seeds: The Militarisation of Youth and How to Counter It, War Resisters International, 2013

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Young soldiers ‘more likely to die’

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

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.

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

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.

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Young age at Army enlistment is associated with greater war zone risks: An analysis of British Army fatalities in Afghanistan

This paper, published by ForcesWatch and Child Soldiers International, indicates that the risk of fatality in Afghanistan for British Army recruits aged 16 and completed training has been twice as high as it has for those enlisting at 18 or above.

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

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.

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

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

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ForcesWatch submission to Defence Select Committee Future Army 2020 inquiry

ForcesWatch's submission to the Defence Committee's inquiry Future Army 2020, which recomments an evaluation of the case for an independent review of the minimum age of recruitment into the Army with a view to recruiting only adults (aged 18 and above) in the future, looking at five reasons why the time is right for this.

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Last of the boy soldiers? Bid to end centuries of tradition by banning the Army from recruiting under-18s

Sir Nick Harvey describes policy is 'increasingly anachronistic'; Believes 16 and 17-year-olds more likely to die or be seriously wounded; Also claims millions of pounds is wasted due to high drop-out rates

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