Military recruitment
The proportion of female personnel varies internationally; for example, it is approximately 3% in India,[1] 10% in the UK,[2] 13% in Sweden,[3] 16% in the US,[4] and 27% in South Africa.
[8][9][10] Some states, including the UK, US and Canada have begun to recognise a right of transgender people to serve openly in their armed forces, although this development has met with political and cultural resistance.
In practice, most military recruits are young adults; for example, in 2013 the average age of a United States Army soldier beginning initial training was 20.7 years.
The minimum age at which children may be recruited or conscripted under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is 15.
[17][16] The organization reported that the so-called Straight 18 standard – the restriction of all military employment to adults – had been emerging as a global norm since 2001.
[16] Most states which recruit children under the age of 18 have undertaken not to deploy them routinely on military operations, having ratified the OPAC treaty.
[17] According to the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UNSG), in 2016 14 states were still recruiting and using children in active armed conflicts: Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Mali, Myanmar, Nigeria, Philippines, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
[19] Cross-cultural studies suggest that, in general, children and young people are drawn to military employment for similar reasons: war, economic motivation, education, family and friends, politics, and identity and psychosocial factors.
[20] The hope of escaping socio-economic deprivation is one of the main factors attracting young people to military employment.
[24] As an indication of the socio-economic background of British Army personnel, as of 2015[update] three-quarters of its youngest recruits had the literacy skills normally expected of an 11-year-old or younger, and 7% had a reading age of 5–7.
["Nach der Schule liegt dir die Welt zu Füßen, mach sie sicherer.
Scenes from Hollywood blockbusters (including Behind Enemy Lines and X-Men: First Class)[37][38] have been spliced into military advertising in the US, for example.
For example, Russia operates a system of military schools for children from age 10, where combat skills and weapons training are taught as part of the curriculum.
[41] The UK is one of many states that subsidise participation in cadet forces, where children from age 12 play out a stylised representation of military employment.
[42] The United States offers Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps to high school students as an extracurricular activity.
Many eligibility criteria normally apply, which may be related to age, nationality, height and weight (body mass index), medical history, psychiatric history, illicit drug use, criminal record, academic results, proof of identity, satisfactory references, and whether any tattoos are visible.
After leaving the armed forces, for a fixed period (between four and six years is normal in the UK and US, for example[65][64]), former recruits may remain liable for compulsory return to full-time military employment in order to train or deploy on operations.
From the point of their enlistment/commissioning, personnel become subject to military law, which introduces offences not recognised by civilian courts, such as disobedience.
Perks of military service typically include adventurous training; subsidised accommodation, meals and travel; and a pension.
The rationale for counter-recruitment activity may be based on any of the following reasons: Armed forces spokespeople have defended the status quo by recourse to the following: Armed forces have made effective use of short slogans to inspire young people to enlist, with themes ranging from personal development (particularly personal power), societal service, and patriotic duty.
In recent years, there have been various concerns over the techniques used in (especially) army recruitment in relation to the portrayal of such a career as an enjoyable adventure.
Today there are thousands of recruiting stations across the United States, serving the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force.
Authors Peter A. Padilla and Mary Riege Laner define six basic appeals to these recruitment campaigns: patriotism, job/career/education, adventure/challenge, social status, travel, and miscellaneous.
[79] And though other themes – such as adventure and greater social status – would play an increased role during World War II recruitment, appeals to serve one's country remained the dominant selling point.
With no war calling men and women to duty, the United States refocused its recruitment efforts to present the military as a career option, and as a means of achieving a higher education.
[80] The Defense Department turned to television syndication as a recruiting aid from 1957 to 1960 with a filmed show, Country Style, USA.
As such, the committee recommended "improved basic compensation and conditions of service, proficiency pay, and accelerated promotions for the highly skilled to make military career opportunities more attractive."
Though this may, in part, have been the result of a lack of civilian jobs during the recession, it nevertheless stands to underline the ways in which recruiting efforts responded to the circumstances of the time.
Today, the GI Bill is "no longer a reward for service rendered, but an inducement to serve and has become a significant part of recruiter's pitches.
