UK Association of
Publishers 2004 Award for Most effective public sector
title - Army Magazine,
British Army Recruiting Group - Haymarket Customer Publishing
"The key objective of ARMY
Magazine is to encourage teenage boys and girls under the
recruitment age of 16 to move from a simple 'interest'
in the Army to a position where they actively consider a
career...The judges felt that 'the magazine is clearly on
brand and appropriate; it has very high production values
and the back-up research results were impressive.'"
more
Uncle Sam wants you (to play)
- 2002 Summer's hottest online game, America's Army, brought to
you gratis by, well, America's Army..
"It's nice to think that only
this 18-year-old will look at this or play it at home. It
doesn't happen that way," Merin said. "You're going to
have brothers and sisters and cousins and other kids 11 and
12 and 13 years of age who can't process or truly understand
the reasons for this, and do not truly appreciate the
difference between reality and this type of fantasy..."
more
UK's Reservations to
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
2002
The United Kingdom understands that article 1 of the
Optional Protocol would not exclude the deployment of members of
its armed forces under the age of 18 to take a direct part in
hostilities where: - a) there is a genuine military need... and ..
more
Recruitment of 16 and 17 year
olds actually increasing in British army - BBC 12 June 2001
"The report notes that
recruitment of 16- and 17-year-olds is actually increasing
at a time when the British Army is finding it difficult to
fill its ranks with older recruits. It says aggressive
advertising campaigns and recruitment drives have helped
boost the ranks of young soldiers..."
Britain says like any
other employer it should be able to recruit people straight out
of school
"..Campaigners also back a UN
optional protocol to raise the minimum age to 18. They say
younger people in the armed forces are too vulnerable. But
the UK and many other nations, including America, reject the
proposed limit. Britain says like any other employer
it should be able to recruit people straight out of school,
and they are all volunteers for a long-term career.."
more
British Army
opposes move to raise recruitment age from 16 to 18 - BBC
22 June 1998
"..the army describes the
UN's initiative as "potentially disastrous". "We lose
the ability to attract the young individual at the
appropriate time to a career of first choice. We are unable
to offer those young people who want an army career the
opportunity to have that career," said Brigadier Freddie
Viggers, from Army Recruitment.."
more
Association
of Publishers 2004 Award for Most effective public sector
title - Army Magazine, British Army
Recruiting Group - Haymarket Customer Publishing
 Award
Citation: "The key objective of ARMY Magazine is to
encourage teenage boys and girls under the recruitment age of 16
to move from a simple 'interest' in the Army to a position where
they actively consider a career.
The publication aims to instil a sense of confidence in the
reader that a career in the Army is well worth investigating. The
challenge for Haymarket Customer Publishing over the past year has
been to move the title forward, sharply focusing the recruitment
message and refining the editorial content to reflect a constantly
changing organisation.
The results as to the effectiveness of the title more than
illustrate Haymarket's ability to deliver against these objectives.
Various mechanisms are in place to measure this effectiveness. Every
issue contains a member, get member ad and a 'join
Camouflage' data capture mechanism, while readers are constantly
encouraged to join using the website. The follow through from
readers for each of these response tools was seen to be impressive.
The judges felt that 'the magazine is clearly on brand and
appropriate; it has very high production values and the back-up
research results were impressive.' They praised it's 'innovative
format and balanced and original articles.' "
Uncle Sam wants you (to play) - (Courtesy) Chip Charter in St.
Petersburg Times, 19 August 2002
An American soldier is in trouble. He's cut off from the rest of
his squad and looking for a way across an exposed rooftop.
Terrorists in the desert below are launching grenades at him and his
comrades. The soldier takes a deep breath, rolls to his left,
springs to his feet and begins to sprint. He's greeted with a
blinding flash and a deafening roar as a grenade lands at his feet.
Joe Iovino is dead.
No worries, though. Iovino, who's actually a senior at Wharton
High School in Tampa, will be good to go again in a couple of
minutes, as soon as the rest of his squad completes the mission.
Iovino's playing the summer's hottest online game, America's Army,
brought to you gratis by, well, America's Army.
The game is an eye-popping, first-person combat simulation
two years in the making and takes players from basic training at
Fort Benning, Ga., to action in hot spots around the world.
Gamers can tackle missions alone on their home PC or join other
combatants online.
The Army spent two years and more than $7-million to
develop and implement the Windows game as a recruiting tool
(a two-disk free home version will be available this month. You
can register for a copy or download the online game at
www.goarmy.com
).
Iovino, an avid gamer, has been playing America's Army since "the
day it came out -- I mean like the very minute," along with about
200,000 other gamers who have registered at the Web site since July
4. He guesses he plays up to four hours a day, then admits with a
grin, "I'm running on, like, two hours of sleep."
As he hunts terrorists and handles weapons including M-16s and
grenades, he's also getting a not-so-subtle sales pitch from the
Army.
Lt. Col. Casey Wardynski, originator and director of the
project, says America's Army is a "way to communicate the Army's
values and opportunities to today's young Americans. Given the
popularity of military games and the ability of a game to be a
great medium for both entertainment and education, we believe
that the America's Army game will be a very effective and
cost-effective communications tool."
[U.S. Army]
It’s not all of the fun and war
games: America’s Army characters must attend basic
training before competing online.
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No question. Kids love games, and the $7.3-million price tag
represents less than one-half of 1 percent of the Army's annual
recruiting budget. But is there something kind of creepy about the
Army plying recruitment-age teens with a free video game filled with
virtual thrills and kills.
There are a dozen missions (more scenarios are planned at regular
intervals over the next five years) that portray running and gunning
action, but not one that has gamers peeling potatoes in a hot
kitchen for 18 hours at a stretch.
"Or scrubbing the bathroom floor with a toothbrush," Iovino said.
"That doesn't bother me. I know (if) I go there that's (part of)
what I'll be experiencing."
But Dr. Sidney Merin, a Tampa forensic psychologist, says
America's Army, which is rated T for Teen, raises some ethical
questions. He isn't concerned about the older teens who get the
recruiting pitch but about their younger siblings and peers who will
likely be exposed to it as well.
"It's nice to think that only this 18-year-old will look at
this or play it at home. It doesn't happen that way," Merin
said. "You're going to have brothers and sisters and cousins
and other kids 11 and 12 and 13 years of age who can't process
or truly understand the reasons for this, and do not truly
appreciate the difference between reality and this type of
fantasy. They know it's fantasy, but they're very, very
impressionable."
He also worries that "an arm of the government" has put
its stamp of approval on a game that so eloquently depicts
"maiming and killing" in a realistic setting.
Merin also says the Army may get more than it bargained for in
terms of who responds to the pitch.
"They're using very strong advertising to recruit certain
types of personalities, a sort that has an interest in the
military, which is perfectly acceptable. But you're also
recruiting certain types of individuals who may be less
emotionally stable than the military would like to have," Merin
said.
The game was developed by the Army and the MOVES Institute at
the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, Calif. Army experts
put the developers through weapons and situational training
intensive enough "to keep all our scenarios and missions true to
life," Lt. Col. Wardynski said.
The result is an unqualified success from an entertainment
standpoint. It's also breathtakingly realistic. Weapons are less
accurate on the run than at a standstill, reloading occurs in real
time and even breathing affects aim.
And America's Army is a graphic masterpiece, right down to the
grimy hands that stretch out in front of you to do your dirty work.
Iovino says the game ranks in his all-time Top 10. "I fell in
love with the way it looked the second I saw it," he said.
"Everything was real. The guns, the grenades -- it was all there."
Iovino says military service "was a tiny thought in my head at
the beginning of this year, but this game was the cherry on top. It
has influenced me. I won't lie," and now he's thinking about a hitch
in the Army.
Iovino goes back to his game, rejoining his online comrades for
another mission. Cornered in a building, he takes several rounds
from a terrorist's AK-47 and groans as his character drops to the
ground.
"They don't really show you the gruesome part," he said,
laughing. "They can't simulate the pain."
- Chip Carter is a syndicated video game columnist who
lives in Tampa.
UK's Reservations to Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child
"The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland will take all feasible measures to ensure that
members of its armed forces who have not attained the age of 18
years do not take a direct part in hostilities.
The United Kingdom understands that article 1 of the
Optional Protocol would not exclude the deployment of members of
its armed forces under the age of 18 to take a direct part in
hostilities where: -
a) there is a genuine military need to
deploy their unit or ship to an area in which hostilities are
taking place; and
b) by reason of the nature and urgency of the situation:-
i) it is not practicable to withdraw
such persons before deployment; or
ii) to do so would undermine the operational
effectiveness of their ship or unit, and thereby put at
risk the successful completion of the military mission
and/or the safety of other personnel."
Recruitment of 16 and 17 year olds actually increasing in
British army - BBC 12 June 2001
"Britain has been criticised in a new report which identifies
countries that routinely recruit child soldiers. The Child
Soldiers Global Report, released on Tuesday, identifies the UK
Government as the only country in Europe that still recruits
16-year-olds, and routinely sends soldiers as young as 17
into battle....The country finds itself in the company of
African nations like Sierra Leone and Sudan for bringing
"children" into the ranks of the armed forces...Although new
recruits do not immediately go into combat, 17-year-olds have
served in the Falklands conflict and during the Gulf War. So far
there is little sign of any change in the British Army. The
report notes that recruitment of 16- and 17-year-olds is
actually increasing at a time when the British Army is finding
it difficult to fill its ranks with older recruits. It says
aggressive advertising campaigns and recruitment drives have
helped boost the ranks of young soldiers. Britain was criticised
on the same issue at a European conference in Berlin in 1999."
Britain says like any other employer it should be able to
recruit people straight out of school
"....The UK's armed forces recruit school leavers from the
age of 16, and they can be used on operations from 17 - the
limit under current international conventions....Campaigners
also back a UN optional protocol to raise the minimum age to 18.
They say younger people in the armed forces are too vulnerable.
But the UK and many other nations, including America, reject the
proposed limit. Britain says like any other employer it should
be able to recruit people straight out of school, and they are
all volunteers for a long-term career. Sixteen-year-olds also
need parental permission to join, and will be well past their
17th birthday before joining the frontline ..."
British Army opposes UN move to increase recruitment
age from 16 to 18
The UN has adopted a worldwide policy to persuade
armies to raise their recruitment age from 16 to 18, but the
British Army which is trying to reverse a decline in recruitment
opposes the move.... However, the army describes the UN's
initiative as "potentially disastrous". "We lose the
ability to attract the young individual at the appropriate time
to a career of first choice. We are unable to offer those young
people who want an army career the opportunity to have that
career," said Brigadier Freddie Viggers, from Army Recruitment.
The British Army is stepping up its efforts to recruit
16-year-olds as part of a drive to fill the gaps in its ranks.
It will open a foundation college in three months for young
recruits at Uniacke barracks, near Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
Promotional literature for the college uses the phrase, "New
opportunities for 16-year-olds".
Neither does the UN's policy cut any ice with some of the army's
current 16-year-old recruits. "I thought it was just the right
age, just coming out of school, it was no time to sit around and
doss around at home," said one young man. Another said: "If
you're 16 and join the army, you're obviously going to grow up
pretty fast and your maturity level's going to be more than an
18-year-old." Their views were echoed by a female recruit:
"At 18, they'll just think about getting out there, whereas at
16 they've got more to learn."
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