will the united states their own child soldiers?

Question

ok, i am doing a report on child soldiers around the world like countries such as africa, middle east etc. but i was thinking the way things are going for us here in the united states do u really think its possible for us to have something like that here in the future? that someone will make an army to go against the government, plz, can ya'll tell me your opinions

Answer 1

what? child soldiers in the US? sorry, but American kids for the most part aren't the kidnapped, brainwashed, poor, illiterate, and desperate 10-year-old AK-47-toting kids of Africa. and those child armies aren't government, they're more like private militias run by warlords

and what are the chances of a kid army ever being raised in the US? and even assuming it could happen, what would be the chances of success? slingshots and rocks against M1A2 Abrams tanks, A-10 Warthogs, M-109 mobile artillery, not to mention all the other kinds of weaponry the US employs. even assuming we could make molotov cocktails

Answer 2

By certain human rights orgainization we do.

Since a 17 year old can join with parents concent, some human rights organizations say the US does sponsor child soldiers. However, these "child soldiers" do not get deployed until after they are 18. The vast majority do not even complete training before they turn 18. Those organizations don't tell you that. Also, the majority are split option meaning they take Basic Training their Junior year in High School and then finish technical training the summer of their Senior year, so they are usually 18 by then as well.

I could see it possibly happening if something drastic happened, like 50% of the population of the contry died from a plague or something all at once, during a time of war, but under normal situation, no.

The other thing to consider with child soldiers is that the countries that have them, the age of adulthood is lower. The idea of 18 being an adult is true in the "western world" mindset, they don't consider that in a lot of "non-western" cultures 16, 14, even 12 is considered an adult and therfore could be a soldier. In most of those cases its a matter of culture, so you have to examine this argument too, is it right to force a "western" culture idea on "non-western" cultures.

Even in our own "western" culture the idea of 18 being an adult is only fairly recent in conception, in the 1800 and before our age of concent was a lot lower and we had child soldiers in federal service preforming limited roles, such as drummers, couries, strecher bearers, and ammunition bearers. So it has already happened.

If you look at cases like Ruby Ridge and the Branch Dividians, extremist against the US government had children in their compounds and even train them. So the idea is out there, but I do not thing there would any type of popular uprising like you see in Africa.

Answer 3

To occupy and hold territory an army must send in ground troops. Ground troops unlike bombers, warships and fighter jets meet the enemy "face to face" and do not have the luxury of killing from long range. Nor are they has heavily protected as a tank. So even a child with a well-placed shot can kill a soldier. To clear a house or village soldiers and Marines must go from corner to corner, house to house to flush out an enemy. This principle is as old as warfare. Even the the best trained armies can be bested by a poorly trained one in an urban environment (like Stalingrad). Still the US casualties are low compared to other wars. In the late 1940's after Hiroshima and Nagasaki US strategists declared an end to conventional war. Then along came Korea where Nukes were of no use whatsoever and the Marines and Army grunts were sent in to dig out the enemy with rifle and bayonet.

Answer 4

No, we'll never have child soldiers.

As for raising an army against the government, that's always possible given the intrusiveness that far too many wish the government to have in our lives, but once again it's unlikely that children would serve in such an army.

Answer 5

No thats ridiculous. No one in the US or UK is under 18 going into battle. In the UK you can have soldiers under 18 but they are normally in training or Junior Soldiers at a trade training establishment, they have to wait until 18 birthday before going on active duty, There was a couple of soldiers who turned 18 whilst on sea transport going to war.

Answer 6

no we are not some 3rd world African, or Asian country, that is unstable because of a vacuum left by the Exodus of European imperialism. we are a stable superpower that threw off the yoke of Europe a long time ago, and took charge of our own future.

Answer 7

They are called militias. They are all over and monitor the government. Actually a Senator I believe said that if people try to divert the water in the Great Lakes that he would call up the Militia to protect it. So sometimes they work together.

Answer 8

All you have to do is look in our past, read information on the age boys joined during the civil war. I doubt for the future, it would happen.

Answer 9

the chances of the American military using children for soldiers is not even a likelyhood.

Answer 10

We have plenty of able bodied men and women, we will never need our children to defend us.