Poll: Should the Army enlistment age be raised to 18?
As the Ministry of Defence comes under pressure to raise the minimum Army enlistment age to 18 years old, we want to know what you think.
All the bishops from the Church in Wales - including the Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan - are among a number of co-signatories to an open letter from the campaign group Child Soldiers International calling for an end to recruitment of under-18s to the Army.
The MoD enlists soldiers at 16 and deploys from the age of 18, but still refuses to implement a total ban on deployment of under-18s, the letter, addressed to defence minister Mark Francois said.
Should the Army enlistment age be raised to 18? Vote in our poll below and have your say in the comments section:
"We commend the MoD for having ceased routinely deploying children into conflict, but challenge its failure to stop recruiting them," the letter said.
"Current recruitment policy channels the youngest most disadvantaged recruits into the most dangerous frontline combat roles.
"Those recruited at 16 have faced double the risk of fatality of adult recruits throughout the conflict in Afghanistan."
Child Soldiers International said its own analysis of MoD figures showed that last year 880 16-year-olds enlisted in the Army, 40% fewer than the year before - 1,470 - and just a quarter of the 3,600 enlisted a decade earlier.
