Child Soldiers: Implications for U.S. Forces
Abstract
On Tuesday, June 11, 2002, the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities, or CETO, conducted a day-long seminar on Child Soldiers: Implications for U.S. Forces at Liversedge Hall, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Va. The purpose of the seminar was to help raise awareness of the Child Soldier Phenomenon throughout the Marine Corps to better prepare Marines for when they encounter child soldiers in the future. This report is intended to enhance professional development, facilitate thought and discussion, and impact doctrine, training, and operations as appropriate throughout the Marine Corps. The timing of this seminar was not coincidental. As the seminar was being conducted, U.S. forces were fighting in Afghanistan. And as was discussed during the seminar, the first U.S. serviceman killed by hostile fire in Afghanistan may have been killed by a 14-year-old boy. While this report was being finalized, plans for a possible war against Iraq were being developed and debated. In President George W. Bush's September 12, 2002 speech before the United Nations, he mentioned that among Iraq's violations of United Nations Security Council Resolutions and international law, Iraq employs children as young as 15 to fight as soldiers. There is little question that U.S. servicemen will encounter child soldiers in the future. Indeed, this topic is one of increasing importance not only for policy-makers, but most importantly, for U.S. service members. This underscores the importance of getting the right information about this phenomenon to our troops before they deploy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA433182
Entities
People
- Charles Borchini
- Erin O'connell
- Stephanie Lanz
Organizations
- Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory