From Cadets to Scouts: Rethinking £250 Million in Youth Militarisation

 

The UK Government is investing £250 million to expand MOD Cadet forces by 30% by 2030. On paper, it’s framed as youth development. In practice, it risks becoming a taxpayer-funded pipeline for militarised identity, with questionable outcomes and disturbing ethical shadows.

98% Dropout: The Quiet Failure

Despite the fanfare, internal MoD data and independent reviews suggest that up to 98%(!) of cadets never enlist in the Armed Forces. Even among those who do, dropout rates are disproportionately high for under-18 recruits. A 2013 report by Child Soldiers International found that training minors costs twice as much as adults, with 36.6% dropout compared to 28.3% for adult recruits.

This isn’t just inefficiency—it’s systemic waste. The MoD spends £88,985 per minor recruit, compared to £42,818 per adult, yet the majority never serve. 

That’s not investment. That’s massive tax leakage.

And in the unmanned drone era only likely to increase?

Child Soldiers by Design?

Also the UK remains one of the few Western democracies/NATO to recruit 16-year-olds into its Armed Forces. While cadets are technically civilians, the blurred lines between youth development and military indoctrination are hard to ignore. 

Uniforms, weapons training, and hierarchical discipline mimic active service. Critics argue this normalises militarisation and exploits vulnerable youth under the guise of character-building.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has repeatedly urged the UK to raise its enlistment age to 18. Yet cadet schemes as young as 13 continue to operate as quasi-reserves, with some cadets participating in ceremonial duties indistinguishable from active personnel.

Scouts: A Civilian Alternative

Contrast this with Scouts UK, which operates on a lean £53.7 million annual budget and delivers proven outcomes in resilience, inclusion, and civic engagement. Scouts offer:

  • Non-militarised leadership training

  • Community service and environmental stewardship

  • Digital skills and vocational pathways

  • A volunteer-led model with minimal state subsidy

For £250 million, the UK could fund five years of Scouts operations (or other Youth Clubs), expand access to underserved regions, and integrate digital inclusion and climate resilience into youth programming.

Opportunity Cost: What We Lose

Every pound spent on cadet expansion is a pound not spent on:

  • Youth mental health services

  • School-based resilience programmes

  • Digital literacy, NEET apprenticeships and STEM access

  • Community-led youth centres

Cadet schemes may offer structure, but they do so through a military lens that’s increasingly out of step with modern youth needs. The Scouts, Duke of Edinburgh Award, and National Citizen Service offer scalable, inclusive alternatives without the ethical baggage. While Reserves after age 18 offer a path to full military roles.

Ethical Red Flags

  • Informed consent: Can a 16-year-old (or 13?) truly grasp the implications of military-style training?

  • Socioeconomic targeting: Cadet schemes disproportionately recruit from deprived areas, raising concerns about coercive opportunity structures.

  • Volunteer burnout: Cuts to adult volunteer allowances are undermining programme quality.

  • Time for Reform

It’s time to ask hard questions with the sudden and loose 5%/3.5% MOD GDP hike of an extra £70BN pa:

  • Why is the UK investing in youth militarisation when dropout rates and ethical concerns are so high?

  • Why aren’t we scaling proven civilian models like the Scouts or Brownies?

  • Why does the MoD continue to recruit minors despite international pressure?

  • Is the 3.5% or 5% GDP defence budget rise merely baking in waste and bloat and Khaki vanity as with Cadets - and not actually adding to UK's defences even with Putin bogged down in Donbas?

The £250 million cadet expansion is not just a budget line—it’s a statement of values. And right now, those values are misaligned with transparency, inclusion, and evidence-based youth development.

A Treasury review of the 5% detail is overdue - and the £250M Cadet budget shot on sight as massive vanity waste. 

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