Acknowledgements

This report is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. CRIN does not accept liability for any loss, damage, cost or expense incurred or arising by reason of any person using or relying on information in this report. CRIN encourages personal and educational use of this publication and grants permission for its reproduction in this capacity where proper credit is given in good faith.

All CRIN content is licensed under a Creative Commons - Attribution Non Commercial - No Derivatives 4.0 licence. No material produced by CRIN may be modified unless consent is given in writing. No material produced by CRIN may be re-used for commercial gain unless consent is given in writing.

CRIN would like to express our thanks to the veterans and their families who shared their experiences of army training with us, to Konstantinos Tsirlis for statistical advice, and to Walter Busuttil, Katharine Campbell, Arzhia Habibi, and Edgar Jones for their thoughts on an earlier draft.

Content warning:

This report discusses suicide and many types of mental health experiences including depression. If you need to talk to someone, please call the Samaritans on 116 123 - any time, any day.


"The recruits are looking for fights more and more. There’s no support from the corporals, no concern about our welfare, so fights start to happen – never for good reasons, just fights. And bullying is everywhere... I tell the people in the welfare office but they just say it’ll all be over soon, which is no help at all... So I fall off. For the first time I think about ending my life, taking a weapon when we’re on the range and firing shots in my head."

— Joe trained at the Army Foundation College, 2013–2014, aged 16.

Contents

 

Nathan... told me he was hit, slapped, pushed, kicked and verbally abused by staff... He started drinking heavily and was very withdrawn... He told me his request [to leave] was ripped up in his face. He was only 17 [with a legal right to leave] and devastated at not being able to leave... He didn't mind the legitimate punishments, it was the abuse he was scared of. He described the staff as animals that got off on hurting and humiliating people... Nathan died [in 2020] while still serving in the army."

— Alison's son Nathan trained at the Army Foundation College, 2016–2017, aged 17.

 
 
 
 

"I believe the policy of recruiting for military service from age 16 is due a review. This report highlights some alarming themes, particularly the risks of mental illness as well as suicide in young personnel and veterans, some of whom might already be vulnerable prior to joining the military. While recruitment from age 16 continues, careful oversight of the policy is extremely important, as are proper care and supervision. The training environment should be nurturing, where physical, verbal and sexual threats, bullying and abuse have no place. Regulations governing recruits' conditions of service should also be nurturing and not stifling of young people's options. Staff should be accountable at all times."

— Prof Walter Busuttil, Consultant Psychiatrist, Director of Research and Training at Combat Stress, and Visiting Professor at King's College, London.

"We are unusual in the UK in recruiting at age 16 for our armed services. In bringing new insight into the impact of early enlistment on mental health, this report merits wide and careful attention. The reader will appreciate why the age at which we recruit ought to be a live question."

— Lord Browne of Ladyton, Former Secretary of State for Defence.

"This carefully researched and compelling report highlights the increased risk of suicide among young armed forces personnel and veterans compared with their peer groups in the general population. But this is not just a matter of numbers. Each death by suicide is a tragedy, with devastating long-term effects on whole families. Although it is tempting to blame such suicides on previous life events, such as childhood adversity, the robust evidence presented here shows clearly that the at times harsh nature of early military experience, including training, increases substantially the likelihood of this catastrophic outcome."

— Dr Katharine Campbell, Author and Neuroscientist.

 

→