{UNDER STRICT EMBARGO UNTIL 00.01HRS MONDAY 7 JANUARY 2008 ARMY MARKETING MISLEADS RECRUITS, WARNS NEW REPORT
Children as young as seven targeted with a glamorised view of warfare. Potential new recruits to the army are subjected to a misleading picture of life in the military, according to a new report backed by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, launched today.

Advertisements and recruitment literature glamorise warfare, omit vital information and fail to point out the risks and responsibilities associated with a forces career, says the report. “Informed Choice? Armed Forces and Recruitment Practice in the UK” states that:

• For every two 16 to 22 year olds joining the army, one is leaving
• In 2007, 48% of all soldiers found army life to be worse than expected, with only 20% thinking it was better
• The UK is the only EU state to recruit 16 year olds and children as young as seven are targeted by recruiters
• Recruiters often don’t meet the parents of minors
• More than £2billion is invested annually in training; most of this is used to train approximately 20,000 new recruits who replace those who leave each year
• Many recruits enlist without fully understanding their legal obligations; literature fails to mention that unless they leave within six months of enlisting, minors have no legal right to leave for four years.

The report recommends sweeping changes to armed forces recruitment policies including: a new Charter setting out the state’s responsibilities; a radical review of recruitment literature; phasing out recruitment of minors; and new rights for recruits to leave service..Only when these changes are made, it says, will potential recruits be able to exercise their right to make an informed choice about enlisting. A new website, also funded by the JRCT and going live today, aims to give ‘independent and fair information about the benefits, risks and terms of service of a career in the armed forces’. Concerned parents and potential recruits can access it at www.beforeyousignup.info.

“Informed Choice?” concludes that the armed forces:
• Largely fail to inform recruits about the risks of a forces career
• Curtail recruits’ rights to withdraw their consent from employment
• Largely depend on the socially and economically vulnerable to enlist for negative reasons
• Recruit minors without adequate safeguards.

Peace and Security analyst and the report’s author, David Gee, says that the armed forces glamorise the ‘action man and woman aspects of forces life’. He says: “A career in the armed forces can provide young people with opportunities. But there are risks and legal obligations that don’t exist in civilian life. It is therefore vital that potential recruits fully understand what they are getting into and can make an informed choice about whether to enlist. The action man and woman picture does not tell the whole story. “The armed forces have a poor retention record, partly because they promise recruits more than they can deliver, so thousands end up wanting to leave as soon as possible. Not only will a more balanced and honest approach to recruitment ensure that those who join do so for the right reasons, it will also help reduce the huge resources spent on replacing
personnel.” ENDS

For more information, an executive summary of the report and to arrange an interview with report author David Gee, please contact: Victoria Shooter - 020 7793 4036 / 07989 558924 Victoria@dhacommunications.co.uk.

Notes to Editors
• “Informed Choice? Armed Forces and Recruitment Practice in the UK” is an independent report wholly funded by the Joseph
Rowntree Charitable Trust. The report, written by peace and security expert David Gee, is the result of 10 months’ unique research and analysis of the armed forces’ recruitment literature and processes. It assesses whether potential recruits and their parents are provided with an accurate and full description of a forces career, including its potential benefits and risks
• David Gee is an independent researcher based in London. He worked for eight years in Quaker Peace & Social Witness managing a programme dealing with international peace and security topics. He is author of several reports and briefings including US Missile Defence: Ten Reasons for UK Concern (with Helen Hughes), Peace and Security in a Nutshell, and US Military Bases in Britain
• The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust is an independent, progressive organisation committed to funding radical change
towards a better world. It makes grants to individuals and to projects seeking the creation of a peaceful world, political equality and social justice. The Trust was awarded Most Admired Charity in 2007 by Third Sector Magazine. www.jrct.org.uk.

Statistical References

• For every two 16 to 22 year olds joining the army, one is leaving - Based on intake and outflow of recruits aged between 16 and 22 in FY2005-06, when 10,230 non-officer recruits aged 16-22 years old joined the army and 5,310 in the same age range left. Defence Analytical Services Agency, ‘TSP 19 - Intake to and Outflow from UK Regular Forces (Table 1 – Intake to UK
Regular Forces by Age and Service, FY2005-06 and Table 6 - Outflow from UK Regular Forces by Age and Service, FY2005-06)’ [data tables], <http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tsp19/tsp19tab1.html> and http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tsp19/tsp19tab6.html>, accessed 5 February 2007
.
• In 2007, 48% of all soldiers found army life to be worse than expected, with only 20% thinking it was better - MoD, Army Attitudes Survey 2007: Q70.

• More than £2billion is invested annually in training; most of this is used to train approximately 20,000 new recruits who replace those who leave each year - Outturn costs of training establishments 2004-05: Navy: £351M Army: £961M RAF: £723M [Total: 2,035M]. MoD, ‘Current Funding Position of the Training Regime’, in HC Defence Committee, Duty of Care, Vol
2, Ev 235. Includes ongoing training.}

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