Madam,

The family-friendly Armed Forces Day is used as another promotional vehicle to persuade impressionable teenagers to join the army.

Over the past five years, more than 350 Welsh 16 and 17-year-olds joined the Armed Forces.

The British Army is more than 4,000 short of its trained strength target of 82,000, and has admitted that recruiting under-18s mitigates ‘shortfalls in the infantry’.

The armed forces spent £3m last year on slick adverts championing army life specifically aimed at 16 to 24-year-old ‘C2DEs’ – the lowest socio-economic backgrounds.

Earlier this year, Plaid Cymru and Child Soldiers International also revealed that the army bought Facebook adverts targeting GCSE students on exam results day.

They target those with the fewest options.

There is a huge difference between it being a ‘great opportunity’ and being ‘the only opportunity’.

Young people in the north of Wales face particular challenges finding post-GCSE career options.

Given this bleak outlook for many young people across Wales, joining the army at 16 appears attractive.

Child Soldiers International’s 2016 research found that British soldiers who had joined under 18 were twice as likely to die in Afghanistan compared to adult recruits.

Medical research shows that military training itself can have serious, long-term adverse mental health consequences on recruits.

It is time to start protecting our children and to stop recruiting them.

Yours etc,

Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid Leader at Westminster, and MP, Meirionydd and Dwyfor.

Have your say on the local issues affecting you - email [email protected] or join in the conversation on our Facebook page