UK: War veterans call for rethink on recruitment of 16-year-olds

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http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/21/war-veterans-call-for-britain-to-stop-enlisting-teenage-soldiers

Former professionals condemn recruitment of teenagers by ‘pushing the notion of a noble military career to children’

War veterans call for rethink on recruitment of 16-year-olds
Tracy McVeigh
Saturday 20 June 2015 19.36 EDT

A group of British war veterans will launch a campaign this week against enlisting 16-year-olds into the military.

Britain is the only state in Europe or Nato that still enlists minors, a policy criticised by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the parliamentary joint committee on human rights and other groups including Child Soldiers International and British Quakers. The organisation Veterans For Peace (VFP) is demanding change, but the MoD says it depends on 16-year-olds for a quarter of the intake needed to sustain UK forces.

After a six-month trial, 16-year-olds are locked in to the forces until they reach 22, meaning a life-changing decision is made at a brutally young age, says VFP co-ordinator Ben Griffin, 37, who served in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan in the SAS and the Parachute Regiment. He said his experiences gave him an “obligation” to tell teenagers the truth.

There is provision for “unhappy juniors” to be discharged at the discretion of their commanding officer but no guarantee it will happen.