Child Soldiers

Child soldiers are not a new phenomena for U.S. military forces but they are an expanding problem with implications for training and the mental health of these troops and also global implications for the future. This paper begins by examining the problem of child soldiers throughout the world and assesses current U.S. military policy, strategy, and practices regarding child soldiers. Implications for U.S. forces are highlighted and analyzed. Specifically, this paper describes the impact of child soldiers on the effectiveness of combat forces, the potential for negative mental health consequences, the role media and public support may contribute to that outcome, and the effect on military populations beyond combat forces. Lastly, this paper recommends changes to military training and pre-deployment preparation, suggests specific mental health interventions and highlights areas additional research is needed. These recommendations are provided with the intent to mitigate some of the shortfalls identified and position the U.S. military to affirmatively respond to the question of whether or not they are prepared to manage the threat of child soldiers.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.