Iqbol
02-07-2007, 05:37 AM
Britain's child army
Stricken by Iraq and low morale, the British army is on a desperate recruitment drive. Its new targets? Poorly educated teenagers and young schoolchildren
On a stormy winter day, 38 schoolchildren gather at Fulwood Barracks in Preston. They are mainly Year 11 pupils - aged between 14 and 16 - and they have been bussed over from a poorly performing comprehensive in a deprived part of a nearby town for an encounter day with the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.
The four teachers who have come along with them seem apprehensive. Many of these kids, they say, can be unruly; others are quiet but don't perform well in class. Warrant Officer Nick Froehling, however, is young, friendly and easy going. Within minutes he has the children doing rifle drill, shifting model SA80s from shoulder to arm's length and back down to "at ease" - although Froehling doesn't say "At ease". He prefers the order "Chill".
During the day, the pupils learn how to use a climbing wall, negotiate an obstacle course and complete a one-mile run. At the end, they receive a presentation certificate signed by Lieutenant Colonel J Pitt, commander of regional recruiting in the north-west. "Congratulations on successfully completing the one-day Army Personal Development Course," it says. On the back there's a list of local recruiting offices, and it comes with a DVD, recruiting brochures and a glossy teen magazine called Camouflage.
http://www.newstatesman.com/200702050015
Stricken by Iraq and low morale, the British army is on a desperate recruitment drive. Its new targets? Poorly educated teenagers and young schoolchildren
On a stormy winter day, 38 schoolchildren gather at Fulwood Barracks in Preston. They are mainly Year 11 pupils - aged between 14 and 16 - and they have been bussed over from a poorly performing comprehensive in a deprived part of a nearby town for an encounter day with the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.
The four teachers who have come along with them seem apprehensive. Many of these kids, they say, can be unruly; others are quiet but don't perform well in class. Warrant Officer Nick Froehling, however, is young, friendly and easy going. Within minutes he has the children doing rifle drill, shifting model SA80s from shoulder to arm's length and back down to "at ease" - although Froehling doesn't say "At ease". He prefers the order "Chill".
During the day, the pupils learn how to use a climbing wall, negotiate an obstacle course and complete a one-mile run. At the end, they receive a presentation certificate signed by Lieutenant Colonel J Pitt, commander of regional recruiting in the north-west. "Congratulations on successfully completing the one-day Army Personal Development Course," it says. On the back there's a list of local recruiting offices, and it comes with a DVD, recruiting brochures and a glossy teen magazine called Camouflage.
http://www.newstatesman.com/200702050015