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10 reasons not to support Armed Forces Day
Today we are encouraged to celebrate Armed Forces Day. But far from celebrating these institutions, we should be speaking out against them — SYMON HILL gives 10 good reasons why
British army

1 The armed forces uphold class power

The forces target the poorest young people for recruitment. Repeated leaks from the Ministry of Defence make clear that this is a deliberate strategy. A 2017 document stated that the army’s target recruit was “16-24, primarily C2DE. Mean household income 10K.”

In contrast, 49 per cent of army officers went to fee-paying schools (compared to 7 per cent of the population). In effect, the armed forces require working-class people to salute upper and upper middle class people and call them “sir.”

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