Wales

Dark Matter: The UK military ventures into space 

A new space-race is militarising the heavens. We look at recent developments, UK alliances, the defence companies involved, and the woeful lack of parliamentary scrutiny.

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Recruitment of children to the military in Welsh schools

A new report by Cymdeithas y Cymod, ForcesWatch and the Peace Pledge Union examines the issue of military recruitment in schools in Wales – an issue steeped in controversy and on which the Welsh government made a series of commitments in a report published in June 2015, following a public petition submitted in 2012. Since then, little tangible progress has been made against those commitments, yet military recruitment visits to Welsh schools have continued undiminished. 

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Fears over Army targeting deprived schools debated by AMs

Concerns over how many visits army officers make to schools in deprived areas will be debated by assembly members on Wednesday.

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ForcesWatch welcomes Welsh Government stance over military visits to schools

The Welsh Government has been praised by ForcesWatch over a “groundbreaking” decision to support in principle more research into how the armed forces operate in secondary schools in Wales.

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Concerns about armed forces visits to secondary schools in Wales

This briefing is a response to the 2012-13 Welsh Assembly Petitions Committee’s investigation into UK armed forces ‘recruitment’ in schools in Wales, following the petition Stop the Army Recruiting in Schools (P-04-432) submitted by the Fellowship of Reconciliation Wales. The Petition Committee’s final report on their consideration of the petition was published in June 2015.

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Welsh Gov told to review the way British military recruits in Welsh schools

The Welsh Government has been told to review of the way the British Armed Forces are allowed to recruit in Welsh schools.

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Cardiff event on ‘Red Hand Day’ 2015: ‘Ban schoolyard recruitment’

On Red Hand Day (the annual international day of campaigning against the use of child soldiers), 12 February, 2015, a well-attended event at Cardiff's Temple of Peace called for an end to military presence and influence in schools and colleges in Wales. Featuring speakers from ForcesWatch and Fellowship of Reconciliation Wales, the event explored the nature of armed forces visits to schools and colleges in Wales, as well as the military's 'engagement' with young people in Wales more broadly...

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Military Recruitment, Work & Culture in the South Wales Valleys

This article explores how social and cultural life in the south Wales valleys, an area of economic deprivation within Britain, has been shaped by the British military and militarism, in ways that are both specific to the area and shared with other regions throughout the country.

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Welsh bishops urge army to raise enlistment age to 18

The Ministry of Defence has come under pressure from the Church in Wales and campaign group Child Soldiers International which is calling for an end to recruitment of under-18s to the Army

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PTSD report finds veterans from disadvantaged backgrounds most at risk

Forces Watch report calls for the minimum age of recruitment to be raised to 18 to avoid exposing the youngest soldiers to the most trauma

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