To think the army shouldn't be allowed to 'avertise' in schools?

As the only one of 4 children not to join the CCF at school (it clashed with ballet!) I did join up at 26 following a decision that it would suit me as a career. My ex-CCF brothers and sister are now an airline pilot, a computer programmer and a midwife, so I don't see that joining the cadets had much impact on their career choices.

On the other hand I would like to point out that the armed forces do appeal to disadvantaged kids and particularly to those who have been unsuccessful at school because they are willing to put in the time and effort (and often one-to-one tuition) to teach these young men and women to read, write, do basic maths, manage their own bank accounts etc. Is it desireable that this is required? No, clearly not, but there are a lot of young people who encounter genuine support and care for the first time in their lives once they have joined up.

Also - all recruits are actually volunteers and those who join up under the age of 18 have an extended period during which they can withdraw from their contracts without incurring penalties once they have had a chance to see what they are getting into.

no you are not being unreasonable IMO & IME

cadets and such as an option for discipline and life skills, confidence imterpersonal skils etc should be advertised and approached as such.

the army did a thing in my sons school, and its always an option for those "less academically able"

he came home - the boy at age 15 announcing he was going into the army.

"they do rock climbing, quad biking ......" and on and on about outdoor persuit activity.

i said " yeah, and they send you to places where you will get shot......did they mention that"

changed his mind that did funnily enough.

and what about the RAF or the navy. why little minion thick as shit kids? akin to the army canvassing tot he poor communities in america if you ask me.

those with the fewest options get to go be shot at.

no one mentions officer training, snadhurst ...get good a-levels son.... then we will see.

no. they don't.

my dh was an air cadet then RAF an airline pilot and now a corporate pilot to be fair its done him a great service and was enouraged by his school

I was a scout leader and even as an adult taught me a great many things
my friends son is about to join the RAF he ants to train as an engineer and is really excited about it

must go - we are so far apart there's really no middle ground worth discussing.

oh I see - you're going to debate Iraq.

bit difficult to put an army together just when someone is threatening you, tends to be a good idea to keep one all the time. We have very short memories in this country - can you not ever concieve of a time that Britain might be at war again?

don't think people have particularly been debating Iraq have they? or sis I miss it?

Primark - I hope you thanked him for being prepared to risk his life to defend you if push came to shove. You don't think much of the forces it seems but thousands of men and women are prepared to die to defend you whether you "approve" of them or not.

Ok well made my views perfectly clear so off to do some peaceful non-gun related work .

sorry am still slightly baffled that by taking the vacant space of a local greengrocer that folded, the govt has its priorities screwed up.

I would much rather have a functioning army with enough recruits than a local greengrocer, but I hardly think that the govt is actviely trying to push local shops out of business so that the army can have recruiting offices. Perhaps its my army links. It makes me incredibly sad how much scorn people pour on the armed services as a career.

There was a whole load of the fighting forces cut about 10 years ago as part of the "peace dividend" so we now need to recruit again. No avoiding the fact that a lot of recruits are teenage boys (as with every other army in the world- except perhaps switzerland where I think they are middle aged banker )

Yes, I think my opinion of recruiting in schools will always be positive, because of my families experience of the air force.

The air force gave my family many things, including my education.

I lived for some years with my dad checking under the car for bombs, not being out and about in his uniform and this on mainland Britain because of the Irish terror threat.

Had he gone to Iraq we would have been worried but we always knew what the real purpose of his job was, and the risks involved, and I think even the most disengaged teenager sat in an assembly would be aware of soldiers dying, as we were during the troubles.

(Apologies for delay - baby crying...)

Many commerical airline pilots are ex-military - it's how they came by their training and air time, which could be pretty expensive otherwise.

When we had the Army and Navy in to talk to us at school, we were not allowed to put questions to them directly - the headmaster vetted them... hence no tricky questions about defence spending, etc. I don't know why. I'm sure they guys could have done a good job of answering them.

My school discouraged me from going into the Air Force. I wish I'd never listened.

TheDevilWearsPrimark,
A number of my old frieds now fly for the raf, and yea, I worry, but I am also extremely proud of them all

(hijack alert)
DominiConnor, which cadet group were you with??

Hi Blu, thanks for the reply,
we were always given a choice...possibly because people did volunteer, they (the TA) never needed to point fingers and demand. Given the choice, if they had no volunteers, they might have to force someone against their will.

and they won't be too fat in 5-10 yrs time if they do army cadets (or simialr) my nieces did a hundred km walk with them last year over 3 days

but Blu - there are lots of jobs which are advertised as being better than they actually are.

Caring - help elderly people lead longer, happier lives, blah blah blah

Reality - clean up sht and pss and get treated like poo........

Teaching - work with amazing young people eager to learn about the world

Reality - lots of paperwork, badly behaved children, parents criticising etc etc etc

..............

I was an Air Cadet, and TBH it did make me consider being a pilot, but I was that sort of kid anyway, as were most of the rest.
Recall that Scouts were also specifically set up to be militaristic.
The difference is a bit more discipline, and of course guns.

It's a very badly paid job, and this country treats their families and former soldiers like shit. When the army was putting out fires during the strike, the fire brigades got a lot of interest from squaddies who saw far fewer hours, a decent pension and a lot bigger pay.

Any, yes, it is the case that the Army has always taken in those who career options are thin. It is one of the few employers with a positive view to those with a criminal record. I recall that the tabloids had some fun a few years back about the fact that policy implied that a murderer would be allowed to kill for his country.

And yes it is true that many turn wasted lives to the good. Others don't and it's long been the case that the largest single group of adults living on the street have been former soldiers. Indeed the laws on vagrancy were specifically set up to deal with demobbed squaddies.

The most recent TV adverts are surprisingly honest about the work, showing the stress of urban patrols in Iraq.
However they don't show the fact that your wife and kids will often be housed in 3rd world accommodation often infested with vermin.

Cadet forces do allow young adults to make rational decisions about that career option. Most decline it of course, but it's better for everyone if based upon knowledge.