My only claim to fame during my service was that when when I was commissioned I was still two weeks short of my 18th birthday and was at the time the youngest officer in the British armed forces, a situation which lasted about 4 weeks until a chap on the next intake who was slightly younger than me was commissioned in his turn.
I see no problem in allowing 16 year olds to volunteer for military service. It's always seemed to me a paradox that as young men and women become physically mature earlier and earlier there is a tendency for them to remain childlike for longer and longer - witness the growing numbers of helpless twenty and thirty somethings still living at home with their parents. At least these boy (and girl) soldiers are showing a willingness to get out into the world and prove their independence at an early age.
Last edited by Tankertrashnav; 20th May 2013 at 09:16.