Green Party calls for halt to cadet unit expansion

The call comes following a report on child recruitment in the UK armed forces, which found 16- and 17-year-olds are more vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide, death, self-harm and substance abuse during an armed forces career compared with adult recruits.?

?The report, by health charity Medact, also warned that military recruitment marketing takes advantage of adolescent cognitive and psychosocial vulnerabilities, with the recruitment approach designed to portray military life in "glamorous terms" and materials often failing "to provide complete and accurate information". ??

The report has been released in response to an announcement by Defence Secretary Michael Fallon that 150 new cadet units for state schools will be created.

At the 2015 Summer Budget the government committed £50m to increasing the number of cadet units in state schools in some of the most deprived areas of the country.  ?

Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party, said that the party believes education should promote equality, inclusivity, and social and emotional wellbeing but "expanding cadet units into state schools runs counter to that".

He said the recruitment of children to the British Army is at odds with the value placed on childhood in British society.

??"The impact on many of those recruited before they turn 18 is clearly devastating and the government should immediately follow the example of the rest of Europe and raise the age limit to 18," he said.

??"Presenting adolescents with a glamourised portrayal of life in the armed forces, which fails to present the real hardships they will face, leaves them unequipped to make informed decisions and is nothing short of exploitation. ??

"The Defence Secretary should stop the expansion of cadet units in state schools immediately." ??

According to the study, the armed forces can accept applications from individuals aged 15 years and seven months or more, with a view to enlisting successful candidates on or close to their 16th birthday. ??

It said that in 2015/16, 22.2 per cent of recruits into the UK army were under the age of 18.??

The MoD has been contacted for comment.