PET(4) SAR 09
Petitions Committee
Consultation on petition P-04-432 Stop the Army Recruiting in
Schools
Response from the Meeting of Friends in Wales (Quakers)
Cyfarfod y Cyfeillion yng Nghymru,
Meeting
of Friends in Wales,
Crynwyr
Quakers
02.04.2013
ARMY RECRUITMENT IN
SCHOOLS
P-04-432
To: The Petitions Committee
Meeting of Friends in Wales (Quakers) is
charged by Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of
Friends (Quakers) to represent and advance the life and witness of
the Society within Wales, and to communicate with the Welsh
National Assembly on matters relating to peace, justice and social
witness and interfaith relations. It represents Wales to Britain
Yearly Meeting, and is therefore aware of its responsibilities to
ensure that the voice of Quakers in Wales is heard.
As one of the historic Peace Churches, Quakers have maintained a
peace witness across the centuries, we feel bound to respond to the
petition on the involvement of the Armed Forces or Ministry of
Defence recruitment personnel in Welsh schools. What follows
indicates our areas of concern:
- Under
the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a child is defined as
anyone under the age of eighteen, and it is the duty of the UK
government, party to the Convention, to promote the best interests
of the child. The recruitment of children into the armed forces, in
our view, subordinates or negates those interests since it limits
the breadth and depth of their education, as defined by Article 29
of the Convention.
- The 2011
Wolf Report - Review of Vocational Education (commissioned by the
Department of Education) recognised that the armed forces
educational system was fundamentally flawed, offering limited
academic qualifications and excessive professional specialisation.
Its deficiencies can therefore affect future prospects and may
contribute to the high level of unemployment found amongst former
military personnel. A study by the Royal British Legion in 2006
found 'unemployment rates among ex-Service personnel aged 18
– 49 to be twice the national average for the same civilian
age group.Their lack of training and skills was cited as a reason
for this.'
- The 2008
report by the UN Commission on the Rights of the Child recommended
to the UK government that it should take measures to ban the
recruitment of children into the armed forces.
In April 2008 there were 4,650 under eighteen year olds serving in
the British armed forces.
In 2007-08, 20% of all recruits in Britain had been under 18 years
of age. While those under eighteen currently constitute about 1% of
the trained strength of the armed forces, those recruited under the
age of 18 amount to over a quarter of the army's fighting strength.
The UN Commissions's recommendation should be heeded.
- The
House of Commons Defence Committee in their third report of the
2004-05 session hinted strongly that recruitment of those under 18
should be seriously considered. They hinted that the practice
should cease.
The thrust and validity of their comments, throughout that report,
highlight serious issues relevant to the recruitment of those under
18. All other EU and NATO countries ban the practice of recruiting
below the age of 18. We should follow their example. The very
notion that we encourage 'child soldiers,' whatever the safeguards,
is troubling.
- 28
regular armed forces personnel, under the age of 18, died, while on
service between January 1994 and 31st December 2003. In
2007 two under 18 year olds died while on training.
-
Considerable evidence points to the fact that recruitment is
concentrated on areas of deprivation and towards young people who
may be vulnerable. Using information obtained under the Freedom of
Information Act, Assembly Member Leanne Wood, 'showed that the army
was 50% more likely to visit schools in the most deprived areas of
Wales than to visit those in less deprived areas.'
A 2004 survey in the Cardiff catchment area found that 40% of army
recruits were joining as a last resort. A survey of their personal
backgrounds found that of 500 recruits joining between 1998 to
2000:
• 69% of recruits were found to have come from homes of severe
disharmony;
• 50% were classified as coming from a deprived
background;
• 16% had been long-term unemployed before joining;
• 35% had had more than eight jobs since leaving school
(nearly all on a casual basis);
• just over 60% had left school with no academic
qualifications;
• just 14% had more than five GCSEs at grades A-C.
-
Informed choice in respect of enlistment is essential as is
opportunity for balanced judgement made in the light of all
available evidence and in awareness of the ethical dilemmas the
judgement may involve. We doubt that many 16 and 17 year old are
capable of this, even when supported by their parents, but the
absence of information about the implications and possible outcomes
of enlistment should be remedied. A recent study undertaken by
King's College, London, which found that of 2,700 men 'in the armed
forces under the age of 30, 20.6% had been convicted of a violent
offence, compared with 6.7% in the general population. Men who had
seen combat in Iraq and Afghanistan were 53% more likely to commit
a violent offence than those in non-frontline roles. Personnel who
had multiple experiences of combat had a 70% to 80% greater risk of
being convicted of acts of violence.'
Associated with this was a worrying revelation that violent
offending was most common among young men from the lower ranks of
the army. Problems of homelessness and mental ill-health amongst
veterans also deserves to be highlighted. The report
Informed Choice? found ethical shortcomings in
recruitment practice. 'Although being over 18 is no guarantee of
individual maturity, it is the formal moment of transition from the
status of minor to adult. It could be argued that employment in the
(armed forces), with its particular features, is inappropriate for
minors.'
-
Present practice in marketing life in the armed forces relies on a
high level of glamorisation, this accompanied by a culture which
glorifies and fantasises 'killing', particularly in computer games,
distorts understanding of the issues especially amongst the most
vulnerable. If the recruitment of under 18s is to continue then it
is vital that alternative views around peace building and keeping
should be integrated into the curriculum. Promoting peace is, in
our view, more important then reflecting upon military glory.
Heroism is not merely the prerogative of the military.
- We
do not hold with the militarization of young people on the spurious
grounds that it may be an answer to the social ills which have
disadvantaged them, nor do we hold with such a thing happening in
schools. Given that headteachers and school governors have
discretion regarding what happens in their schools we would
encourage the Wales Assembly to reflect on this matter with due
concern for the wider picture, and to issue guidelines in respect
of recruitment and schools.
-
Quaker independent schools do not allow the military to advertise
and recruit, though at a later stage any individual might make the
choice of visiting a recruiting office. We do not believe that
scholars from these schools have been at a disadvantage because of
this, nor by the absence of career advice on the armed forces.
We understand that the
present situation regarding invitations to the armed
forces
to attend schools rests with the headteacher. This being so,
we believe that the Assembly should reflect on the issues with a
view to defining what is acceptable, and should be
issuing firmer guidance to schools on how
they should handle the involvement of the military. Matters
relating to recruitment practices, the quality of training to
members of the armed forces, post-discharge support, housing,
health etc. belong with the UK government, but they are issues
which should affect informed thinking on recruitment in schools and
upon which our National Assembly should have an
opinion.
Signed on behalf of Meeting of Friends in
Wales (Quakers), by
Christine Trevett and Ros Morley
David Gee, Informed choice?Armed forces
recruitment practice in the United Kingdom, ww.informedchoice.org.uk
accessed 19.3.13, page
16.
The Deepcut Review, A review
of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of four soldiers at
Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut between 1995 and 2002, HC
795-I, London, The Stationery
Office, 2006, para.,12.36, 386.