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

[TheDevilWearsPrimark]

I was speaking to my aunt over the weekend she told me she was horrified to hear there had been an assembly run by the T.A at her local school.

Her 15 year old son was apparantly very excited about all they had said, and has apllied for his local cadets group.

I just can't help think that this smacks of desperation on the armies part to recruit children who otherwise feel they have little options, or simply don't really know what they want.

Those television adverts that make it all seem like a fun computer game are another step too far.

Xenia you're right there is a case for being neutral but what an almighty cop out that is.
if there was a world war again, then there comes a time when being "neutral" involves a level of appeasement with which it would be hard for me to be comfortable.
it certainly isn't our tradition to stand by in the face of threats and aggression or to appease aggressors
I certainly wouldn't want to be in the position the RoI were in during WWII.

My DH is in the army and has not long got back from Afghanistan, my brother is serving in Iraq and, as an inevitable consequence of living on an army base, most of our friends are in the forces.
I'm incredibly proud of what they do and, while I wouldn't necessarily want my son to join (too much time away/risk of getting shot!) I would support him if that's what he chose.
You should be grateful we have an army which defends the freedom of some of you idiots on here to write what you like, wherever you like.
And to go back to the point joining the army is not a choice like any other because without an army, we'd be in serious trouble. Lots of other countries still have National Service!

?that?s not what I want for my children?. But what if that?s what your children want? One day they will grow up and be in a position to make choices for themselves, and it won?t just be your upbringing that influences their choices in life, and there will come a time when they won?t seak your approval for the choices they?ve made. So if those choices include wanting to serve their country then what?

I addressed that in my earlier comments.

persephonesnape, perhaps you could address the question Haarpsichordcarrier then?

Quote:

for those of you who oppose military service and would be heartbroken if your child signed up, can I just ask - do you think we shouldn't have an army at all? do you think it is unnecessary? do you think we should not be involved in any peacekeeping or other missions? and what if we were invaded or any of our territories?

Interesting point DominiConnor about teachers running CCFs. As is obvious from my previous post I am a member of the reserve forces (I guess that makes me a terrorist ) and I have helped out on CCF camps etc before. I have found that the teenagers often find it quite difficult to differentiate Mr Smith who's their chemistry teacher 5 days a week and Lieutenant Smith who's their CCF officer 1 afternoon a week. Equally Mr/Lt Smith finds it difficult to move from being jokey/matey teacher to Officer in Charge.

I do think there's therefore definitely a requirement for more regulars and/or reservist involvement in CCFs - alas with all the directions the ever diminishing forces are pulled in, I can't see that happening anytime soon.

Other people have different opinions and some people support the military. I wouldn't force my opinions on the general populace and believe people should have the choice whether they serve or not. I have said it's not something that I would want my children to do (of course if they choose to do that, I hope they would take my feelings into consideration)

If we were invaded I would fight myself, although i imagine the choice of whether one joins up or not would be a little less of a 'choice'. I see that as distinct from 'peacekeeping'. I still think there are other ways to aid other countries rather than joining the forces.

Dominic- I happen to know that the CCF or DofE are compulsory in my son's school. I know anedoctally of a kid who left by mutual agreement when he refused to be in any of the uniformed services (the school was doing St John's ambulance instead of DofE at the time). It is that kind of a school, and alas the only one around here- there are very few schools in Devon as it is, and fewer still for boys (this is a mixed school, a former boys' school, in a sea of girls' schools).

Duchesse the (private) senior school I am looking at for my child has compulsory CCF in year 10 and after that they can stay in it by choice.

Thing is that more direct involvement is necessary if we are to maintain the level of forces we currently have.
Soldiers pay is really bad, and it's pretty clear that the phase where they are used beyond the generally popular "defend the homeland" is going to last the next few decades.

Also, the diversity of warfare is increasing. In the next 25 years, we can reasonably expect to be dealing with hi-tech enemies with smart missiles, urban warfare, and (if the climate models are to be believed) intervention in the affairs of huge numbers of forced migrants.

The range is so large, that we need more reserve forces, since it would be prohibitively expensive to keep all the specialities as full time soldiers. Medics and communications specialists have substantially gone this way already, it ought to grow.

But sadly the cadet forces and TA by their nature don't require multi-billion pound defence equipment contracts. Thus the government largely ignores them. I'd bet 50% of MPs don't even know there is an Air Training Corps.
Same with the way that post-traumatic mental illness doesn't get much help. BAe has no psychiatric services to sell, so the government doesn't buy.

I'm implacably opposed to compulsory membership of an armed force. DSs are well up for guns, as am I, but that's a choice, not an obligation. I
Apparently I was wrong that this chinless idiocy was gone.
Would explain why the CCF units I encountered were often so shit. Conscripts make inferior soldiers, even if the raw material is the same.

Look at the Americans in Vietnam, Russians in Afghanistan, the Argentines in the Falklands, and the various Arab/Israeli wars.
Apparently superior forces trashed because the actual fighting men were just cannon fodder to the political elite.

DC I think you are muddling up CCF and TA

Army cadets often share facilities with TA units, but yes I think that going forward there should be better integration.
You can see the nearest TA base from DCs school, yet the CCF has it's own building.

FioFio,

The Army sends out surveys on a random basis every couple of years to women / ethnic minorities / FC Soldiers and the like asking them, in confidence, if they have come across bullying / racism / sexism / harassment etc and since I have served (16 years) the responses (usually published 6 months or so later) have got better and better. Yes it WAS an issue in the Army, but as time goes on it lessens.

I worked on a building site many moons ago and was treated far, far worse there than I have ever been in the Army.

The punishments for any form of racism, bullying, harrassment et al are strictly enforced in the military - jail terms are possible - which I believe is far more stringent than in civvy street. We hear all the time of women being awarded tons of cash for sexual discimination etc but how often does the perpertrator serve a jail term???