Shameful Secret Of Child Soldiers In UK
British Army Soldiers
Many of you are probably scratching your head at the thought of a Western power employing children to fight its wars but the UK is one of twenty nations who still use children. I myself, an avid supporter of the enlistment age of 18, was appalled by the fact that the UK is letting kids as young as 16 join the armed forces as well as front line units like the infantry. While these “soldiers” are not seeing combat until the age of 18 the problem is they’re being jailed for abandoning service. It’s literally costing the UK millions of dollars to train soldiers who simply are too young for service and wind up quitting.
According to the British Army’s recruitment page the age required for enlistment into the regular army is a ripe 16 years old (with parental consent). Even more frightening than that is the 16 year old doesn’t have to be some sort of super warrior. There are literally no minimum requirements for service; not even a diploma. North Korea and Iran utilize the same policy and that makes sense but the United Kingdom?
The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers has published a report that details not only the money being wasted but the staggering number of initial entry drop outs. It clearly shows that the policy isn’t worth maintaining. The report even noted that “soldiers” are being jailed for going AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) even though commanders can relieve them of duty without punishment. The campaign group is calling on the Ministry of Defense to raise the age of enlistment to 18.
According to the report 27% of underage soldiers dropped out of initial entry training last year when compared to 18% for all other ages. Out of the 4,675 16 and 17 year olds who joined the military that year, 1,445 or 32% left the same year. Training for an infantryman costs the British people $43,617. The total cost for soldiers who dropped out of training was roughly $64,722,000. If the government was to raise the enlistment age to 18 it would increase the deployable infantry force by 3.6% with no cost to the government.
Soldiers under the age of 18 do have the option of discharging themselves after the first month of training and before 6 months has elapsed since enlistment however if they do not they’re locked in. The next time they can be discharged is when they turn 22 years old and as a result many go AWOL. The United States allows its candidates to enlist at the age of 17 but even they must have a high school diploma, or GED, by the time they enter into full service.
I personally was disgusted to find out that they were taking kids who’re supposed to be sophomores in high school and training them to be soldiers. It’s clearly a policy that should have been nixed 100 years ago. The military isn’t an environment for everybody and its certainly too much for most 16 year olds. I’m not sure whats worse, the policy or the parents who send their 16 year old off to basic training. The Ministry of Defense is currently cutting the size of every service but they’re not cutting a policy that has an incredibly high failure rate. Sounds awfully familiar.
What Should The Enlistment Age Be?
- 18 (43%, 20 Votes)
- 16 (37%, 17 Votes)
- 21 (13%, 6 Votes)
- 20 (7%, 3 Votes)
- 19 (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 46
Loading ...Facts
- Age to become a legal adult in the UK – 18
- Age to become a legal adult in the US – 18
- Minimum age to join the military in the UK – 16*
- Minimum age to join the military in the US – 17**
*In the UK you do NOT have to have any qualifications or high school diploma to join any branch of the military. Parental permission is required.
**In the United States you may join the military at 17 with parental permission but you must have a high school diploma or equivelancy degree by the time you enter into service.
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Source: Mirror
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Shocking news. I hope the UK changes this policy.
Unfortunately, I am sure there are minors who decide it is better to join the military than stay in their home. However, clearly child protection services failed them. Therefore the minor soldiers should be able to leave without consequence and be released from their contract at 18 years of age. And for the love of hope ensure these minors have to obtain their GED.
I hope this policy changes.
Really… what the hell, its not bad. If Teenagers want to join the Military its their choice stop complaining, they are the ones who want to do it.
Well technically their parents have the final say. Their choice or not I don’t agree with the policy of enlisting minors into the ranks of the military.
The enlistment age should be 20-21. Sixteen is far too young and 18 is not much better in my opinion. Twenty-one years old and you have a bit more life experience, more confidence and have a better idea what you want for your life. Our military would be stronger for it.
I live in the UK and am only 14 but cant wait for the chance to join the army, as i am currently in the army cadet force which is actually fun and not all tough and strict like you make it out to be, true some young people do quit the army but it was their choice to join in the first place , they werent forced into it!
How is it shameful if its what you chose to do?! also you dont exactly need other qualifications if your job doesnt require you to use them and another thing surely if you can be trialed as an adult at 12 then at the age of 16 you should be completely capible to make such a decision of joining the armed forces.
I see the cadet force has done an excellent job influencing you in your choices. I didn’t make the cadet program out to be tough or difficult as that program is made to entice you to join what is tough; the real military. Most people quit the army because they didn’t know what they were getting themselves into and at 15 or 16 how can you? You can’t even vote until you’re 18 so the government does not even trust you, as a 15/16 year old soldier, to elect government officials. You’re telling me you don’t need an education for the military? I don’t even know what to say to that. Good luck reading a map and properly calling in your coordinates for an air strike.
Sure you can be tried as an adult for committing murder but not for much else. It should be if you can legally vote then you can join but I suppose your cadet commander objects.
Good luck and hopefully you don’t waste your nations tax money by realizing you made a mistake.
*comment edited to remove “brainwashing”
The Army Cadet Force is not just there to recruit young men and woman. How dare you speak down about an origination you have no experience of, do you take the same stance with the boys brigade, Scouts or perhaps the brownies? Thousands of young people around the country have nothing to do with their time but to hang around the streets and these organisations give them the chance to experience something more and become a decent person who contributes to society. Cadets are taught a wide range of skills including map reading. They are taught things such as how to wright a CV and interview techniques along with a host more of educational things that are not taught in today’s schools. I was in the Army Cadets and when i left i never failed to get the job i was after. About 8 years ago i joined the Army aged 26 with very little educational qualifications and i now have a folder full and i am the more confident and a much nicer person with more respect for others than ever before.
Stop this stupid grudge you have with the Army Cadets young people have very little to do with their time and it is better than spending millions more keeping them from mischief.
Sure the recruit force isn’t just there to recruit young men and women but thats its main purpose. To entice men and women to join the armed forces. I don’t have experience in your military no but I can do my research and compare the two as I did before writing this article. My main issue isn’t with this cadet “force” but with these 16 year old soldiers and them being charged as adults when wanting to quit or go AWOL. They can’t quit when they want and you know thats crap. If they could they wouldn’t be charging them for going AWOL. If young kids are hanging around the streets doing nothing thats better than training them for war. They’re young kids and are supposed to be out having fun and playing xbox not learning to fire the L-85 assault rifle or how to pack a ruck sack. Sure the skills they learn will help them with a career in the military but where else does reading a map and drill and ceremony come into play? The service itself looks good but being an uneducated basically trained grunt isn’t awesome. Like you said a 16 year old can do that.
I have no grudge with the cadets other than the fact that they keep coming here to give me a lecture on hating cadets. We have cadets here but at least I can understand that it’s a program to make you want to join the military and I was in the military.
Their are plenty of kids who don’t join the military and I don’t think your government is bleeding out of money because they’re discipling kids who’re up to mischief unless you’re saying the only kids who join the military are ones who’d cause the mischief. But I strongly suspect thats not the case
fyi I have known how to read a map since i joined the scouts at ten which anyhow is taught through our education system unlike you yanks by the sounds of it plus you dont even start school til about 6 or 7! , i’m not saying you dont need an education just not things you wont need to get the job done properly and your basically saying a child capible of murder wouldnt be capible of combat because you simply disagree with the idea of it (*and you dont actually see combat til 18 anyway).
Also what would you possibly know about our military system or what its like in a military environment anyhow, its not all what you hear in the news its the people next to you that count not biased americans who imply their opinion could actually change something with reason behind it because they dont like it.
And i dont see Why it should be if you can legally vote, thats an entirely different matter and as for wasting tax money i think youll find most of it is actually wasted on immigrants not the millitary.
Did you read my article? I mentioned the not seeing combat until 18 in there. Also we “yanks” start school at 5 and require you at least be a graduate of high school. The basic requirement to get a job in this country so wouldn’t you say we have higher requirements than a nation that let’s kids serve? A basic education is required for every job in the military in my opinion, what this blog is, so that you can comprehend what it is that you’re doing.
What I know about the military is based off of my military experience in the Army infantry and what I have seen. I don’t need experience in the infantry to know that a 16 year old isn’t fit for service though. Clearly your government does not agree with you as the military there is being slashed left and right and your pubescent voice holds no value or power to stop it.
It’s hard for me to take any of you seriously if you think 16 year olds in the military are prepared enough mentally and physically for the tasks ahead. Men double your age struggle with it.
I must ask where you think you have any right to give an opinion on the military as the cadet force is a glorified boy scouts.
Yea voting is entirely different but if you can’t vote for the politicians who send you to war then you’re just being used.
BTW do they make uniforms in your size?
16 year olds who join the British army spend 2 years in Army Technical College before they start training for combat and can get out whenever they want. You got all your facts wrong. All our Soldiers do 6 months basic training before going on to do trade training if they have one chosen one, unlike American soldiers who only complete 6 weeks basic. Should the headline not read ‘SHAMEFUL SECRET OF LITTLE TRAINED AMERICAN SOLDIERS?’
Wrong. I got all of my facts from the British Army Website which I linked to as well as the cadet “force.” The statistics on the wasting of money comes from an independent organization and the MoD so I don’t understand how you don’t know this. I suppose its all of your training on ignoring facts? If you’re going to hit me up for getting my facts wrong the least you could do is go to http://www.goarmy.com and see that American soldiers do 10 weeks of basic training followed by their technical school. I don’t know why I’d change the title when the content is going to remain the same. I wouldn’t support 16 year olds in America’s military and I won’t support them in yours.
Of corse they make uniforms in my size you IGNORANT BASTARD all cadets wear the same uniform as the proper army so clearly you should of researched in more detail before making such a comment! and no it is not and never has been part of the scouting orginization nor is it a so called ‘glorified boy scouts’ also its our country and our military not yours so where is your right of opinion?
I now see why everyone calls americans stupid and if as you say men double my age do struggle in your military then maybe they should get more than 10 weeks training as they clearly need it or not to have joined in the first place if they were too unfit and with obesity rates and the no. of fast food restraunts soring in america theres no suprize.
I agree it should be called this or otherwise never have been made in the first place.
Maisy I believe there was a culture clash regarding the Admin’s comments. I did not take his biting remarks about boy scouts or the size of your uniform as literal. They were back-handed jokes common in the US and he was clearly making a joke about your age. I must wonder why you are so quick to react with sensitivity and offense.
You are young and though I applaud your passion and admire the fact that you are so certain of what you want to do in life at such a young age I must point out a few simple facts.
The UK obesity rate is the highest in Europe and the third highest in the world behind the US and Mexico (of developed nations). America has an obesity rate of 30% and the UK is quickly gaining ground at 23%. Those numbers are according to the BBC and the World Health Organization and refer only to the rate of obesity and not simply being overweight which places the US and the UK significantly further down the list.
In terms of obesity I do not believe the UK can say much about the US as you are in the very same heavily weighed down boat. Now the percentage of simply overweight people in the US is 74.1% compared to 63.8% in the United Kingdom. You are gaining ground very quickly on those stupid Americans!
I do not mean to personally attack you but I would feel a missed opportunity if I did not mention that it may be in your best interest to focus on sentence structure and spelling while you are working towards your goals in the UK military. You will go further in life with a strong foundation in English. Please also consider learning to communicate without overreacting.
Thank you! Finally someone gets it
I see were you are coming from, but you have to understand that 16 isn’t a child, at 16 by law within the UK you can ride motorcycles, leave school, get a job, have sex and smoke with varies other activities become legal, unlike America the UK doesn’t have a mass population but we have people who look for Jobs and the Military is a job, People who are under 18 and sign up they get sent to Military College that is right Military College, unlike your country you have too be 16 to go to Military College, is it not 13 within your country and does your country not have cadets? O yes they do, you cannot just have a go and complain about another countries Military when your country isn’t the best for Young soldiers and one last thing YOU need parental signature to sign up for Cadets and Regular Military. I am 16, 17 on June the 8th and start my Basic Infantryman training in August! There are no jobs for young people and I am also in cadets… Maybe you should try and argue with people from your own country before you attack the UK with our Military age laws and so on.
The age at which the UK considers people an adult is the same as most of the Western world; 18. Just because you can have sex and smoke cigarettes doesn’t make you an adult. People under the age of 18 are not sent to military college and again that is from the recruitment page of the British Army. They get sent to basic training and then the technical school for their MOS (military occupational specialty) of choice. You cannot join the military nor go to a college or military college unless you’re a graduate of high school in the United States. Yes the United States has JROTC (junior reserve officer training corps) programs but you can still not join the military until you’re a graduate of high school or in between your junior and senior years and 17 years of age. I can complain about a military that allows children to enlist when my own military is comprised of legal adults by the worlds standards.
Why should I argue with people of my nation when the issue would be invalid? No one who is 16 years of age is in an infantry unit; no one. Educate yourself
I think it is right that 16 year olds can choose to join the Armed Forces; I also think the voting age should be 16. I would remove the requirement for them to serve until 22. Remember most of our European neighbours have conscription. Anyway the school leaving age is going up to 18 in three years time. I was an Army Cadet and joined the Territorial Army (similar to the National Guard) at 17 (I think the picture at the top is of British TA soldiers training with the National Guard). I don’t regret joining had a great time in the Rifle Volunteers, moved on to the Royal Corps of Transport, did the TA course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. My TA service helped me in my career. Many lads of my generation who were not academically gifted went in to Junior Leaders Regiments at 16 and it was the making of them. Most now have good jobs, got qualifications or trades in the Army that have stood them in good stead.
Feel free to criticise the UK, but there were 46 executions in the USA last year, so we need no lessons on civilised behaviour.
How many people did the UK execute during it’s first 234 years? I’d say we have some catching up to do before we can become the model society that you live in.
That’s fine I don’t mind that you find it ok for someone to join the Armed Forces as a kid but I will still take issue with it as do a majority who voted in the poll. I’d rather a nation execute it’s villains and criminals than have the nations youth training for war. It also doesn’t make sense when you look at the figures and see the drop out rate of young soldiers and the cost associated with training those who ultimately do not end up serving your country. I get that you’re pro military but why wouldn’t you want your army’s deployable infantry force to go up by over 3 percent? The numbers show it would be better to raise the age to 18.
John, just know we stopped in 1965 this side of the Atlantic. The United Kingdom was formed in 1801 with the Act of Union so only 210 years old. Yes you do have some catching up to do. Not to say there aren’t things that I admire about the US of A.
We don’t mind the death penalty here though for the most part. We’d rather end the life of a serial killer than put him back on the streets or pay for him/her for life. This debate isn’t relevant to the topic on this page though.
Owner, Sorry I don’t understand what your beef is. On 24 June 2003 the United Kingdom signed the UN’s Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. The Convention requires ratifying governments to do everything feasible to ensure that members of their armed forces who are under 18 years of age do not take part in hostilities. The minimum age to join the Regular British Army is sixteen years and six months; parental permission has to be obtained for those under the age of 18 (even in Scotland where the age of majority is 16). Ok so they are leaning military skills along with their trade; but doesn’t the USA have ‘Military Schools’? both private and publicly funded, where (I’m guessing) basic military skills are taught, and soldiers are seen as role models.
About forty percent of our servicemen and woman joined when they were 16 or 17 years of age, which rather suggests for the most part the system works.
According to the British Army website the entry requirement is 16 years old for the regular army and 17 for the territorial. The U.S. Is irrelevant as 16 year olds are not permitted entry. I’m fully aware they’re not engaged in armed conflict however I strongly feel that 16 is too young to join the military and fully know what is being asked of you. When 27% are dropping out compared to the 18%for those over 18 I’d say the system is flawed. Losing over 64 million dollars in a time where your military is being slashed suggests that there is a problem. When the rest of the Western world has an enlistment age of 18 again I’d say your system is flawed.
British Army enlistment requirement page
Owner, you start your article with a provocative and false statement (sic)“…the thought of a Western power employing children to fight its wars…”
Now you claim the rest of the West recruits at 18, not so; Australia – apply at 16 enter at 17, Canada is 17, New Zealand is 17.
Is that where you stopped reading too?
“While these “soldiers” are not seeing combat until the age of 18″
I also find it hilarious that you pick nations whose military structure is largely based off of that of the UK. France you can serve at 17 with parental permission but the service length is only one year long. No conscription. Germany is 18 with only a 9 month tour. Greece is 19 unless during wartime. India is 17 years 6 months. Turkey is 18 for volunteers and 19 for conscripts.
Sounds to me based off those facts of recruitment ages in the developed world that the UK and current and former Commonwealth Nations have a few things to learn from countries like Germany, Turkey and Greece.
David it is interesting to me that every nation you mentioned is a proud member of the UK-driven Commonwealth of Nations and once was governed by the UK.
Unfortunately a decent number of these young lads are coming to the army because they would not achieve any qualifications in sixth form. British sixth form is difficult, not an attendance course like college in the US. How can you say that not recruiting the 72% who do not drop out will increase numbers, numbers we desperately need?? Some of these lads find a home for most of their adult lives in the army and may have wasted the years between 16 and 18. As to the ones who drop out, fuck them, they werent good enough and our high quality army relies on pushing out the little fannys. Learn a little about the subject before you mouth off. I spent 7 years in the army so I can speak with authority.
owner i am a 16 year old british and American citizen and i go to a military academy in the US that is harder than the CCF in the UK yet u didnt bring this up, plus u can join when u are in 7th grade so get ur facts right before u start talking about my damn army u yanke trash. i plan to join the british army as an officer. we are the best coz we train them to be prepared and if they cant hack it they leave thats why we are one of the best armies in the world unlike the mediocre US army that trains its men no where near aswell as the UK and these 16 year olds all chose to go and all got there parents permission so shove it yanke
I’d gladly reply to you if you chose to attack the facts in the article rather than throwing insults my way. Read up and read the other comments and then start your assault.
i would also like to add in england i started school at 3 and have been to private school my whole life and the education system here in the US sucks compared to what i have had
I’d like to point out that if your education is far superior compared to Americans then why do you struggle so much with basic punctuation?
nice changing the subject
plus why does a yanke care we british have a proud history and we need no yanke trying to tell us what to do so before u start on england look at ur country the CCF program keeps kids from the trouble that i have seen many americans get into like drugs and drink and it teaches them life skills
It’s a tragedy that children as young as some of those who’re commenting on this blog are already so diluted into thinking that the military is the only choice or the best choice. I did my time so to speak and it’s not a place for children. Enjoy your youth while you have it.
well mate why is it better for an 18 year old or 20 year old to die especially as 16 year olds arent active they just learn many things that will help them in later life plus the pay in the army is great and theres alot of help they offer my sister serves and so does her husband and my cousin was in the US navy and all my family have fought for england and thats the same with many kids
It’s not better for anyone to die but those 18 and older are more mature, more developed and therefore better able to understand their decisions than someone who is 15 or 16. Joining the military is a large decision and while serving is quite honorable it isn’t right to be training kids for war and at 16 you’re a child still even by UK standards (check previous comments). While having a long lineage of service members in your family is quite a bit of pressure for yourself to join and live up to those standards you shouldn’t have to or be allowed to join at 16. Joining a military academy or university is one thing but joining the actual military at such a young age is completely different. As I have said before most of the Western world seems to think 18 is the youngest at which one should be allowed into service and I agree. This article also reflects the opinion of one of the largest and most active groups in the world who is advocating for the end of child soldiers. It is not meant to deter you from making a choice you feel is right but rather to inform the world of what is going on in your nation so that hopefully one day it changes.
Here’s a tip: Don’t use a photo of US Army (trainee) soldiers when writing an article about the UK. We don’t use those shitty m16′s you yanks seem to love.
Here’s a tip: U.S. Army soldiers, even trainee’s, do not wear British army uniforms. I believe in that photo they were in the U.S. training alongside Americans. The M16 is being phased out for the M4 and the M16/M4 Platform has been in use for over a half-century so clearly it has been doing something right.
Well “Owner” your audacity here is pretty shocking to say the least. The British Army is renowned world wide as one of the best fighting forces and indeed, the majority of Western armed forces are based on our own army, especially the Special Forces.
My main point was, what right do you have in criticising the youth of Britain? Most people remember America’s youth for three reasons: obesity, school massacres and stupidity. Many “kids” of 16 find a real home and many opportunities in the armed forces, opportunities not found anywhere else. Few places teach leadership and respect and discipline quite like the Army and I’d like to remind you that just because you wouldn’t enjoy the exercise and such, it doesn’t mean the chance to enlist shouldn’t be available for our 16 year olds.
I have the right to make judgements just as you do in the above comment. I was however not criticising the youth in the article. I was criticising the system that allows the youth to join at such a young age. Just because your Army is well respected doesn’t mean every decision they and your Ministers of Defense make is the best one.
Separately
Fox will tell the House of Commons that the regular Army will shrink to its smallest size in 110-years. The Army will reduce its ranks by at least 17,000 people, to just above 80,000 active duty members.
I’m not sure it meets the standards to be world renowned anymore. I think former Secertary Gates would agree.
http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2011/07/18/britain-to-slash-army-size/
In response to Charlie above I feel it necessary to point out the simple fact that according to British law a 16-year-old is in reality a kid so the use of quotations is incorrect. That is your own law.
As always leave it to the British to alter the facts. First of all the obese remark is one you should use very carefully as your own obesity is soaring though still lower than the U.S. rate you are gaining. Secondly even though I respect many facets of British culture (as a Doctor Who fan I tip my hat off to the BBC) I do wonder how one may look at the British military as you do simply because I don’t recall the last war your military won. And finally when I think of the youth of Great Britain I think of the stabbings and attacks you have been plagued with recently, the soaring obesity rate and the declining rate of math and science majors throughout your universities. Look it up Charlie those realities come straight from your own government.
In closing kindly pull your loaf out of your arse while you learn the proper useage of quotations and catch up on the facts surrounding your own country before you attack the opinions of anyone else. As the owner correctly stated we do have the right to form opinions and judge anything we want. In fact if memory serves we gained that right when our military defeated the great and powerful British military so many years ago. Of course back in those days we had kids fighting for us but thankfully we have evolved since – a shame the UK has not.
Last war we won, ever heard of the Falklands mate.Last war you won all by yourself nothing really springs to mind and before you say it you didnt win in Vietnam.
Anyway back on topic, I personally think you should be allowed to join at 16. I was going to join myself but my parents wouldn’t give me consent. Looking back on there decision I respect it after the whole thing of staying in till your 22 is a bit to long maybe cut it to 20.
Well if we’re going by your standards then you didn’t even win the Falklands all by yourself. So in Troy’s defense I’ll point out that the 73% of American troops involved in Operation Desert Storm blew through that nation in what about a hundred days? Defeated the largest army in the region and infiltrated the most heavily defended city in the world.
Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to join at 18, serve until they’re 22 and give their nation 4 full years of active service rather than soaking up 6 years of pay for 4 years of combat ready service?
ok then mate we didnt win the Falklands. Argentina took them we got them back so we won.73% is not a %100.
we where in Iraq with you lot…
also ever heard of the falklands?
If you’re counting the Falklands as a war, which technically it wasn’t, then I will throw in the U.S. invasion of Grenada, Panama and the victory over the Soviet Union during the Cold War. While we are at it why don’t we take credit for the Mujahideen defeat of the Soviets in Afghanistan?
Unlike the cold war there was combat in the falklands.
255 British and 649 Argentine soldiers died so yes I count it as a war. so some more respect please.
Neither side declared war. It was a conflict such as Panama was for us. Tossing in the cold war was a bit of humor because from the comments I’ve seen here you think the U.S. is incapable of anything.
Typical Americans poking their noses where they aren’t welcome.
abit harsh
I love this. We both live in free society’s and your nation along with its people stick their noses into places it shouldn’t belong either. You’ve just been telling us where we can and cannot stick our noses which is hilarious.
”Shameful Secret Of Child Soldiers In UK” Its not really a secret
”the thought of a Western power employing children to fight its wars” They don’t fight only train.
Whats your problem anyway, how on god’s earth does this affect you?
I’m 15 and hoping to join up when i finish my exams, and before you say it I am not some retard that can’t count nor was i brainwashed by some imperialist redcoat you hopes to send millions of 16 yearolds off to defeat those devilish french dogs and send napoleon packing once and for all…
I want to join for the same reasons as any 20 or 30 yearold and to be honest its none of your business what we brits do, we don’t complain about your shitty health care system or your rednecks (okay we might)
so how about you keep to affairs in your own country and stop yer bitching.
You highlight the many problems that make employing a 15/16 year old for the purposes of war illogical. You read the headline and a few more sentences and then stopped I assume. Your comment shows that you didn’t read on to the point where I explain that the UK is only training those soldiers not to mention the 15 or so other comments where kids like you take the same stand. Being ignorant might work for some jobs in the military but certainly not all of them.
Just as you bitch about our ways of life we do the same about yours. We, like all other free society’s, are able to judge those who’re different from our own. It’s what makes the world go round and what causes the wars that every empire has waged. If I recall the British empire got its ass kicked a few too many times from sticking their nose where it didn’t belong. Do you have an empire anymore?
The article is amazingly one sided you say things like ”shameful secret” when its not a secret we advertise afc harrogate on tv so it can hardly be a secret…
You are amazingly anti-british… Yes we have had are share of defeats the american war of independence or the crimian war for example, but we also one the french and indian war (saving american colonists from french and native invasions)we won the napoleonic war we won the jacobite rebellion we wonthe zulu wars we won the war of 1812 we won ww1 and ww2 (obviously not single handedly defeat would have been unavoidable without american & russia’s entry to the war)
I’m not going to disrespect your fallen soldiers by poking fun at veitnam or somalia
It is certainly not a well known fact here and as NOTW has shown us headlines are everything. Sure the title doesn’t apply in your country but it grabs people attention and that’s the purpose. I’m not anti-British at all and fully support your military. I just don’t support kids that young being in your military. It’s a personal opinion that I found backing for. This is a blog after all. Yes both of our armed forces have had their fair share of victories and defeats but that isn’t the point of the article. People got off topic well before you commented trying to attack the American military rather than the article. If you’ve thoroughly read the article you will see that I don’t attack your military members rather I attack the choice of your government to allow children into the military. This isn’t an article about veterans or wars its about your government keeping a policy that in your current financial state doesn’t make sense, to me, nor does most of the Western world implement the same policy. If everyone but the U.S. had that policy then obviously I would be outnumbered here but it’s just not the case.
Fair enough, one final thing though, you say the army cadets brainwash people?
I’m not sure if you where just trying to wind him up, but i can assure you they do not… I spoke to some of the adult volunteers this summer as i was hoping to join, (the activities they do would really help my cv) he said that they aren’t allowed to tell people or convince people to sign up, I also spoke to one of my mates in the acf he said the same thing.
@Norn Iron thanks for the new information. I’d be more than willing to change the wording in the comment. It may have come off wrong but what I meant to say was that they were influencing them to join. The uniforms, military training etc. Brainwashing may have been a little strong. Thanks for commenting
I really do hope you know the US army is 16 with parent consent as well and canada is 17 and the cadets can not be called into active service because thier a youth club I think you really need to get your facts straight plus your photo is bogus britain has l85 and that webbing is american now don’t pic on just britain because we arent the only ones. and 16 is not a child it’s under 15 thats being a child and they cant have front line service like as in being shot at until thier 18
Sorry, you’re incorrect. The United States Army minimum enlistment age is 17 with parental consent and you must be on track to graduate high school. I believe it is you who needs to get their facts straight and re-read the article. The articles main focus was not on the picture but since you’re making issue of that you’re wrong once again. Those are UK soldiers training here in the United States and that is why they’re using U.S. weapons. As I have stated many times before in the UK you’re not considered an adult until you’re 18. Anything under 18 to me is a “child.” While many “children” would find that offensive there is a reason you need parental consent to join the British armed forces if you’re under 18. Please read the article and look at the comments as there are plenty of sources to verify everything that I am saying.
I’m a Royal Marines Cadet and had the ambition to join the Royal Marines since the age of 3, if I want to do that my country allows me to do it sooner, if people join up to something at the age of 16 then they want to do it! Why moan about it when its what THEY want?! More people who wanted to join the armed forces will be upset about this rather than people who don’t want to join up and just want to complain.
Rant over.
Look I applaud your patriotism but that doesn’t mean I have to agree with the policy just because kids want to join up at 3 years old. I also guarantee you that not everyone who signs up at 16 wants to do it. My thinking is this: If the law is that kids can join up at 16 then they start targeting their demographic years earlier. They’re hitting you up to try and join the cadets, showing up at school (don’t know if they can do that there) and showing flashy commercials. They want you. I just don’t think its right for a 16 year old to be in the military, if they want to be or not, and I certainly don’t agree with targeting those younger for enlistment in both your country and mine. Again I applaud your patriotism. Thank you for your comment
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