Thread: Young guns

You may have already seen this

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...s-1692222.html

It seems a remarkably sympathetic view to find in the Indie

A good piece of writing. This bit brought home what these kids are missing out on these days :-
"For the officers and the non-commissioned officers, who may only have a matter of months between the brutality of conflict and a role effectively mothering a group of children, it is as rewarding as it is challenging. A couple of weeks ago, one male officer approached a female junior soldier in the library to commend her on a piece of classwork only to have the young girl burst into tears and flee. Fearful that he had said something inappropriate, he asked a female corporal to investigate.

She returned to reassure him that the teenager had simply been overwhelmed by the praise. At 17, it was the first time anyone had ever told her she had done well."

I wish I could have gone to something like this

Originally Posted by Jubbles

I wish I could have gone to something like this

I did, It was called Junior Leaders Regiment Royal Armoured Corps at the age of 15, and made the best decision of my life, I have just E. Mailed one of my mates who was in my intake in 1967 and I intend to go to the reunion in September, For a thick kid from a crap esstate I have done things that my old school friends would never dream of.

Originally Posted by tropper66

Originally Posted by Jubbles

I wish I could have gone to something like this

I did, It was called Junior Leaders Regiment Royal Armoured Corps at the age of 15, and made the best decision of my life, I have just E. Mailed one of my mates who was in my intake in 1967 and I intend to go to the reunion in September, For a thick kid from a crap esstate I have done things that my old school friends would never dream of.

Me too. AAC Arborfield 1978. It gave me a trade I still enjoy doing today. That article reminded me of my experiences.

Has the Army always seperated the men from the boys so to speak? I joined the RN at 16 and did my training with lads aged anywhere up to 30. As far as I am aware this is still the case if you join up as a sprog. The only difference in your training is that when given night leave you must be back 'on board' by 2359 and obviously there are heavy penalties for getting pissed up.

IMO getting thrown in at the deep end with the older lads did me good and prepared me more for service life where I had to work and interact with all types of people. While I can see there are many benefits of an Army college for young soldiers, surely they will grow up faster if they train with everyone else?

Me too. Jumping on the Bandwagon Junior Soldiers Company Kings Div Strensall Camp aged 15 1969 the Army & the regiment it was my family, with out a doubt the best years of my life.

Good article.

I'm sure junior service saved many a soul.