recruitment age

MPs criticise Ministry of Defence for continuing to send children to war

The MoD is criticised for lowering standards since WW1 and despite thousands of planned redundancies, it still recruiting children at twice the cost of adults.

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Before You Sign Up

An independent website, setting out the pros and cons of enlisting in the UK armed forces and other advice. Contact us for a batch of these cards. Go to beforeyousignup.info

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UK sent ‘children’ to Iraq and Afghanistan despite Government ban

The children were sent to 'operational theatres' between April 2008 and March 2010. Campaigners against use of child soldiers demand ministers end 'outdated practice'.

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Hey sergeant, leave them kids alone

In July ForcesWatch launched the Military Out of Schools campaign. Speakers Oskar Castro, a US activist in countering military recruitment, and Ben Griffin, ex-forces and the founder of fledgling Veterans for Peace UK, discussed how young people are militarised and what can be done about it.

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Britain’s own child soldiers

A third of army recruits are under 18. Is it right to target the young and the underachieving poor?

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Campaigners and churches back Armed Forces Bill amendments on recruiting children into the armed forces

Organisations and churches who have questioned the recruitment of under 18s into the armed forces are backing an amendment which could see children no longer able to enlist and bring the UK into line with international standards.

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Teenage soldiers given right to discharge

Quakers have been central to a campaign that resulted in a change to government policy last week, as a minister announced that teenage soldiers will be given the right to discharge at any time before turning eighteen.

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‘MoD unfairly imprisons teenagers’

Teenage soldiers have been unfairly detained in military prisons due to a failure from the MoD to effectively implemenent discharge policies, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers has said.

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Campaigners welcome new right to leave the armed forces for under-18s

The government has today promised to give teenage soldiers the right to leave the armed forces up until age 18 if they are unhappy. ForcesWatch and other NGOs have been campaigning on this and other issues relating to under-18s in the armed forces as the Arned Forces Bill does through parliament.

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Catch 16-22: Recruitment and retention of minors in the British Armed Forces

This report, published by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, "challenges the status quo currently surrounding the situation of young people in the UK armed forces today. It questions the ethics and legality of the restrictions on young recruits’ rights of discharge, their minimum period of service, and their exposure to the risk of hostilities. The report also makes the case for a considered review and debate on the minimum recruitment age. It highlights the evidence that not only is the experience of recruits in the 16 – 18 age bracket adversely affected by their relative lack of maturity, but that their high drop-out rate results in millions of pounds in wasted expenditure."

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