Looking For a Few Good Men -- in Prison
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's stretched army said on Sunday it
was considering a scheme to look for new recruits in youth
prisons.
"We have been recruiting young offenders for some time on a
case-by-case basis," a Ministry of Defence spokeswoman told
Reuters. "This is a new initiative looking at making it a more
structured kind of thing."
The army, which relies entirely on enlistment to fill its
ranks, was in exploratory talks with young offenders'
institutions on how to develop the scheme but there were no
firm plans, she said.
The program would apply to young offenders sentenced to two
years or less. Those convicted of sexual, race or drug offences
would not be eligible.
"The army is looking for the best new recruits. We don't
exclude potential young applicants who have made mistakes in
the past and paid for them," the spokeswoman said.
"We admit there is a shortfall in the numbers in the army and
we're looking at a number of ways of addressing that."
Defence Minister John Spellar announced last week that the
minimum term of duty for a soldier would be raised from three
years to four.
Britain's army is strained to the limit by commitments in the
Balkans after the Kosovo campaign as well as regular duties in
Northern Ireland, Germany and Cyprus.
