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Welsh army recruits fall
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_headline=welsh-army-recurits-fall-&method=full&objectid=18908358&siteid=50082-name_page.html
Apr 15 2007 Matt Withers, Wales on Sunday
The number of Welsh recruits signing up to the Army has dropped since the Iraq War broke out, Wales on Sunday has learned.
Welsh soldiers have traditionally been over-represented in the service, often filling frontline roles.
But four years of war in Iraq and the stream of bad news stories may have put off many joining up, with recruitment figures dropping 16 per cent since 2003.
Apart from one rise in recruits in 2005/06, the number has fallen steadily year-on-year since the war began. Some 870 people from Wales enlisted in the Army in the 2002/03 intake, the period in which the war started. But the last figures, for 2006/07 show just 730 recruits.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) says the drop reflects Wales' booming economy, with more jobs on offer to those who might otherwise have signed up.
A spokesman said: "It may be based on economic and other factors in Wales. If the economy tends to be really poor in Wales then the armed forces tend to be high employers, but if the economy's strong we tend to get less. It's just the standard economic market."
But opponents have dismissed their explanation and say the experience of troops in the Middle East is responsible.
Nine Welsh servicemen have been killed in Iraq since March 2003. And last month we revealed Welsh soldiers returning from Iraq were being forced to turn to charity for help with mental health problems amid claims the Government had turned its back on them.
Reg Keys, whose son Thomas was one of six members of the Royal Military Police killed by an Iraqi mob in June 2003 and has another son serving, said it was an "insult" the MoD had appeared to suggest Army jobs were a last-ditch option. He said the real reason for the drop was Iraq.
"If I was a young man in Wales looking at an Army career, the thing I'd be asking myself is, 'If I'm serving my country, am I doing it on the basis of truth, honesty and integrity?'.
"I think the general recruit will be thinking, 'Can I believe, if I'm making the ultimate sacrifice, it's for the right reasons?'. My son went in the first wave of soldiers and did believe he was fighting a country with weapons of mass destruction which could be used in 45 minutes.
"What the MoD is saying, that people join up when there aren't any other jobs about, is an insult. It's almost an insult to themselves. Their excuse is just typical spin. They have to admit recruits are put off because of Iraq. They may be young but they're not stupid."
Earlier this year, the MoD scrapped its policy of going into schools to encourage kids to join the Army. It came shortly after figures appeared to show schools in the most deprived areas were visited 50 per cent more often than those in affluent areas.
Shadow Social Justice Minister Leanne Wood, who called for the visits to be banned, said she was certain Iraq was the issue.
She said: "It's mainly down to the war in Iraq and we need to get the troops out."
Wales, along with Scotland, has traditionally always provided numbers to the armed forces far greater proportionally than other parts of the UK.
A spokesman for the MoD said figures due to be published shortly would show that, UK-wide, recruitment figures were increasing.
On reading this my immediate thought was that the Welsh (and the Scots) are to the British Army what Newfoundlanders (and other down homers) are to the CF.
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_headline=welsh-army-recurits-fall-&method=full&objectid=18908358&siteid=50082-name_page.html
Apr 15 2007 Matt Withers, Wales on Sunday
The number of Welsh recruits signing up to the Army has dropped since the Iraq War broke out, Wales on Sunday has learned.
Welsh soldiers have traditionally been over-represented in the service, often filling frontline roles.
But four years of war in Iraq and the stream of bad news stories may have put off many joining up, with recruitment figures dropping 16 per cent since 2003.
Apart from one rise in recruits in 2005/06, the number has fallen steadily year-on-year since the war began. Some 870 people from Wales enlisted in the Army in the 2002/03 intake, the period in which the war started. But the last figures, for 2006/07 show just 730 recruits.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) says the drop reflects Wales' booming economy, with more jobs on offer to those who might otherwise have signed up.
A spokesman said: "It may be based on economic and other factors in Wales. If the economy tends to be really poor in Wales then the armed forces tend to be high employers, but if the economy's strong we tend to get less. It's just the standard economic market."
But opponents have dismissed their explanation and say the experience of troops in the Middle East is responsible.
Nine Welsh servicemen have been killed in Iraq since March 2003. And last month we revealed Welsh soldiers returning from Iraq were being forced to turn to charity for help with mental health problems amid claims the Government had turned its back on them.
Reg Keys, whose son Thomas was one of six members of the Royal Military Police killed by an Iraqi mob in June 2003 and has another son serving, said it was an "insult" the MoD had appeared to suggest Army jobs were a last-ditch option. He said the real reason for the drop was Iraq.
"If I was a young man in Wales looking at an Army career, the thing I'd be asking myself is, 'If I'm serving my country, am I doing it on the basis of truth, honesty and integrity?'.
"I think the general recruit will be thinking, 'Can I believe, if I'm making the ultimate sacrifice, it's for the right reasons?'. My son went in the first wave of soldiers and did believe he was fighting a country with weapons of mass destruction which could be used in 45 minutes.
"What the MoD is saying, that people join up when there aren't any other jobs about, is an insult. It's almost an insult to themselves. Their excuse is just typical spin. They have to admit recruits are put off because of Iraq. They may be young but they're not stupid."
Earlier this year, the MoD scrapped its policy of going into schools to encourage kids to join the Army. It came shortly after figures appeared to show schools in the most deprived areas were visited 50 per cent more often than those in affluent areas.
Shadow Social Justice Minister Leanne Wood, who called for the visits to be banned, said she was certain Iraq was the issue.
She said: "It's mainly down to the war in Iraq and we need to get the troops out."
Wales, along with Scotland, has traditionally always provided numbers to the armed forces far greater proportionally than other parts of the UK.
A spokesman for the MoD said figures due to be published shortly would show that, UK-wide, recruitment figures were increasing.
On reading this my immediate thought was that the Welsh (and the Scots) are to the British Army what Newfoundlanders (and other down homers) are to the CF.
