The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that it will not raise the minimum age of recruitment into the Armed Forces, maintaining the current threshold that allows individuals to join from the age of 16 with parental consent.
In a written response to a parliamentary question from Will Stone MP, Defence Minister Louise Sandher-Jones said there were “no plans” to change the policy. She emphasised that all recruitment under the age of 18 is voluntary and subject to strict safeguards.
“The Armed Forces have no plans to raise the minimum age of recruitment,” she said. “All recruitment into the UK military is voluntary and no young person under the age of 18 years may join our Armed Forces unless their application is accompanied by the formal written consent of their parent or guardian. We take the duty of care towards all recruits seriously, in particular those under 18 years of age.”
The Minister noted that service personnel under 18 are not deployed on hostile operations outside the UK or on missions where they could be exposed to hostilities. “All new recruits, regardless of age, can discharge within their first three to six months of service,” she added.
Sandher-Jones said the policy complies with both domestic and international law, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. She also highlighted the educational benefits of early entry, describing it as a legitimate pathway for school leavers.
“The provision of education and training for 16-year-old school leavers not only provides a route into the Armed Forces that complies with government education policy and offers a significant foundation for development, but it also enables access to training in literacy and numeracy, as well as enrolment in apprenticeships,” she said.
The Ministry of Defence pointed to independent oversight of its policies, noting that Ofsted regularly inspects training and welfare provision for young recruits.
From what people say on here, It takes a year from application anyway.
A lad in our village applied for REME a few years ago. Capita took 13 months to process him. It was only encouragement from a few veterans that know him that made him stay the course. He is now trained, loves it and glad he listened.
In comparison? I walked into a recruiting office one day, all done and dusted within three weeks. So compare that lol
I joined in 1999. Took 18 months from first application/aptitude test to arriving for phase 1 training at HMS Raleigh. Its very much down to individual branch manning requirements.
I joined in 2015. 9 months from walking into a recruitment office to start of Phase 1.
As Robert said, it really depends on availability of training spots, what job your doing, the waiting list, how well you did on your assessment…
Same mate, walked into the old Liverpool recruitment centre not knowing what I want to do. Had army, air force, navy and royal marines all trying to sell it to me and my mates. I went Cheshire’s… Probably took about 2-3 months but that was back in the day when having Irish grandparents slowed things down…
Voting at 16 but with parental consent? Topsy turvy world eh?
Dad- ‘Vote Monster Raving Looney or you’re on your Bike see!’.
Why would they? I’m not sure what the questioner, ex-Rifles, is getting at.
This will be a planted question by the Labour Party so they can make the statement. I suspect he isn’t trying to make any point himself; they’ll be pre-empting something that was going to be brought up by a lobby group or another party.
Thanks. Makes sense.
OT, but straight from the movies.
In the Independent, a report that Russia says it has foiled a British and Ukrainian plot to steal a Mig31!!! And it’s Kinzel missile
Only this time, it’d be a Russian pilot paid to defect with it rather than Mitchell Gant ( ( Clint Eastwood for those unfamiliar with the 70s film ) infiltrating Biliarsk and stealing the fictional Mig31 Firefox from under the KGBs noses.
Love it.
BTW, I love the fictional Firefox film, and the novel on which it’s based. Firefox Down was even better, but never made it to film.
It read it was inspired due to the late 60s and 70s panic about rumours of a new super Mig25 Foxbat, the Mig31, and the furore over Viktor Belenko who really did defect to Japan in a Foxbat.
I don’t know whether to be frightened or proud that Britain is frequently the bogeyman to the Russians, even if I don’t think there is much truth to what they say. I think the Russians don’t want to portray Ukraine has anything approaching competent so they have to have a shady foreign actor in the background pulling the strings. That increasingly seems to be the UK.
We seem to live rent free in their heads, lets take it as a compliment?
It keeps us in need of a deterrent, which keeps us in need of the USA, which means they only have to negotiate with the USA.
I’m not inclined to believe the report entirely, given that it suggests the aircraft and its payload, were intended for use in a false flag strike on a Romanian air base to trigger a NATO confrontation.
That seems extraordinarily stupid, and in turn makes me doubt the extent of British involvement in this project. The Russians do have a habit of involving the UK – for example, there were claims following the sinking of the Moskva that the ship had been targeted by a British submarine. In the famously British submarine-dense Black Sea.
I seem to recall from my time in the Army, having joined at 16 as an Apprentice in REME, that statistically, a greater percentage of those joining before 18 went on to be Senior NCO’s or got commissioned than those who joined as adults. Not sure if there is any current data to either back this up, or show if it is still the case.
Hi Mark, I joined the RAF as a Boy Entrant at the age of 16, left after 22 years as a Sgt in ’82. Couple of my acquaintences went on to a commission; a few more stayed on to 30 years and made WO. The 18 months I spent as a BE was about half learning the trade and the other half doing further education, marching up and down, PT, marching up and down, outward bound, marching… etc. I can look back and say I grew up a lot quicker than my mates from school! And ended up packing a lot more into my 22 years than any of them did. Never once regretted joining (apart from the marching…).
Wouldn’t be surprised. After all if you join at 22 a) you’re starting about 6 years behind a 16 year old. B) you have experience of the outside world, so leaving probably isn’t as intimidating.
All true and pretty much my thoughts too.
People who leave school and directly enter any career will have skipped a fair chunk of life’s other learning cycles/chalenges at such an Impressionable age.
“Out of the frying pan, into the fire” I would guess.
There might be something in what you say Mark. I joined the RN aged 15 at HMS Ganges as a Junior Naval Air Mechanic, second class, and left 35 years later as a Warrant Officer One. I do wonder how many of our current multicultural, Gen Z youths would even consider serving this country in the armed forces?
The recruiting process seems to be its own worst enemy, I know of people in the army who were discharged with PTSD getting treaded and cleared after about a year, completely mentally fighting fit.. applied to go back to a different roles, all agreed and just before signing papers get told.. no sorry the the history of PTSD precludes even if it’s now essentially treated.. that fact the PTSD was from events in the army and just needed a bit of therapy to get back seems to have gone over the heads off the recruitment process… the army seems happy to throw kids in their early 20 on the scrape heap.. it’s a load of bollox as mental health is something that goes up and down..things like PTSD, anxiety and depression are natural reactions to events and like all natural reactions can be worked on.. our brains are plastic and change all the time. If they keep on with this rejection over mental health they are going to get almost nobody fit.. we are 3 years out from one of the biggest traumas our society had in 70 years and the Information Age is naturally a bit catastrophic for mental health ( our limbic system is designed for being chased by a lion now and then.. not being activated 24/7 by bad news.. because our limbic system is the most profoundly negative, obsessive and anxious thing in existence, it does not need a lot to kick us into mental ill health..it’s why a pathetic monkey with no teeth claws, senses etc managed to dominate the planet without getting eaten into extinction.. over developed fight fight freeze and negative amygdalas are a human condition ).
I think you are right about brain plasticity, but I’m still hoping you are wrong about three years.
When I say 3 years out.. I mean 5 ) time flys) from 2020 when we ended up having a lockdown, closing schools and mask wearing for a year.. that had a profound impact that is still shaking through.
Hi Jon, see my reply to Mark, above. Imagine, as a young, naïve 16-year-old in the early 60’s, having never travelled far outside my birth town, finding myself 100 miles from home, thrown into a wooden barrack block with another 21 spotty-faced young lads. Then being dragged out of our pits at 6.30am, by an angry Corporal, shouting at us for no apparent reason. Then another day of shouting at us, and another… Is it any wonder that we managed to get through 18 months of that without PTSD (or similar)?
Can you imagine the cosseted ‘yoof’ of today going through that? OK, I guess they still do, to an extent.
But we had great trade instructors who were all regulars and who were like parents to us boys. They assured us this wasn’t the real air force. Just get through the 18 months, soak up the training and look forward to a great career. So we did, and we did…
OK chaps, Now look all you Jons, Johns, Jonathans and Joness’s.
It’s hard enough keeping up here as it is without all you lot confusing things.
Can you all just like put a number after your names, like the Welsh do ? I saw Zulu and It worked fine there, well apart from the ones who got deaded.
I believe the number came before the name; alas, I don’t have the baritone for it.
Just give out Cas and Zap numbers.
Ha ha. Should have had “Cas and Zaps”.
Built for but not with “Cas and Zaps”.
I like it, might use it to bore people now. 😁😁😁
I think I’m missing a joke here.
Just call me Taft
Left school at 14 in July1970,15 in august, on the train to Dover in September😀 all tests done in Ipswich careers office👍