Young British army recruits at higher risk of PTSD and suicide, says report

Former soldiers criticise MoD recruitment practices, with Britain one of only 19 countries to allow 16-year-olds to join up

Soldiers who joined the army before they were 18 are significantly more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other serious mental health problems when leaving the forces, according to a report published on Monday.

Younger recruits also have a higher risk of alcohol problems, depression and suicide than those who signed up as adults, claims the report, The Last Ambush, from ForcesWatch, which campaigns for ethical recruitment in the armed forces.

Britain is one of just 19 countries that recruit 16-year-olds into the army. Zimbabwe recently increased its minimum soldiering age to 18.

Under-18s are over-represented in the infantry – the report says that over the past five years 32% of all under-18s recruited joined the infantry, which makes up only 14% of Britain’s armed forces. Recruits cannot be deployed to the frontline until they turn 18.

David Buck joined the army at 17, saw active duty in Kosovo when he was just 19, and witnessed mass graves and burning bodies. On returning to civilian life at 26 he was diagnosed with PTSD, which he attributes to seeing such horrific images at such a young age. He also experienced bouts of severe alcoholism when he returned from fighting in Iraq. “I was trying to get away from the mental torture of PTSD,” he told the Guardian.

Buck says he was swayed by the brochures he read at the recruitment office. “It’s just deception. It doesn’t show someone with their head blown off.” He recalls images that glamorised army life, with recruits abseiling and skiing. “Being so young I was easily manipulated with the stuff they shovel down your neck in the careers office,” he said.

Richard Pendleton, a marketing executive who worked on army recruitment campaigns for 10 years, has told the Guardian that he believes the material he created was misleading.

“I’m deeply uncomfortable about the way we sold the army to young people.” He claims he was expected to avoid mentioning the negatives of army life, adding: “You’re never using words like ‘kill’ or ‘maim’ – they would put people off.”

The ForcesWatch report claims that younger recruits who experienced war were more likely to display post-deployment symptoms including PTSD. Most of the mental health-related problems in the report – anxiety and depression, harmful drinking, violence, self-harm and suicide – are more likely to occur the younger the soldier joined.

Rachel Taylor from Child Soldiers international said: “The UK is the only country in Europe and the only permanent member of the [UN] security council that persists in recruiting children into their armed services.” Since 2002, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Commons defence select committee and the joint committee on human rights have all repeatedly called on the Ministry of Defence to review its policy of recruiting under-18s. The MoD has refused to conduct a review.

Under-18s made up 23.4% of army intake last year, and several former soldiers are speaking out …read more