Tony Erikson Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Paul Hardcastle composed a song that said the average age of a US soldier in Vietnam was 19. If it is so that due to advancements in brain scanning we're finding that the human brain isn't fully developed until a person hits their 20s then should teenagers be allowed in the armed services? As such, the prefrontal cortex is a little immature in teenagers as compared to adults; it may not fully develop until your mid-20s [source: Kotulak]. And if you don't have a remote control to call the shots in the brain, using the other brain structures can become more difficult. Imaging studies have shown that most of the mental energy that teenagers use in making decisions is located in the back of the brain, whereas adults do most of their processing in the frontal lobe [source: Wallis]. When teenagers do use the frontal lobe, it seems they overdo it, calling upon much more of the brain to get the job done than adults would [source: Powell]. And because adults have already refined those communicating synapses, they can make decisions more quickly. Source. Wouldn't we have more efficient armies if the minimum battle age was 21? Perhaps recruit at the same age but concentrate on training and studying before fighting. Or Is it a good thing to have soldiers that physically struggle to make decisions? Perhaps they follow orders better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman62 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Many of our top fighter pilots during WWII were under 21. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mecky Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Paul Hardcastle composed a song that said the average age of a US soldier in Vietnam was 19. Except the average age of a US soldier was 22 in the Vietnam War. n n n n n n n 22 doesn't sound right does it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 If service in the armed forces required everyone to be over say 23 then the recruitment rate would drop considerably. It's proven that young men in the 18 -21 age bracket place a smaller value on their lives than do more mature men. This attitude has probably something to do with brain development/high estrogen levels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandad.Malky Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Paul Hardcastle composed a song that said the average age of a US soldier in Vietnam was 19. . I remember the song well, if the how many were under 19? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetruth Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Yes of course we do who else will be our cannon foder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Gobby Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Perhaps 3yrs in the army for offenders as opposed to three years in a cushy prison cell would be a nice idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonj Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Joined the Royal Navy a long time ago at 16, had a great 27 year career and got an immediate pension. There's probably no way I'd have joined if I'd been 5 years older although I can't say for sure. The early years taught me so much about respect and gave me some discipline and routine which benefited both my personal life and contributed greatly to my current successful new career. There are so many threads on SF about how bad the youth of today are and how we 'should bring back National Service' etc to sort them out. Can't have it both ways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Perhaps 3yrs in the army for offenders as opposed to three years in a cushy prison cell would be a nice idea. Being an old soldier myself the last thing an army needs is society's riff raff. The army is not a dumping ground Let em serve time in prison and work 10 hours a day on graffiti removal and doing garden maintenance for seniors who can no longer do it themsleves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phanerothyme Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Being an old soldier myself the last thing an army needs is society's riff raff. The army is not a dumping ground Let em serve time in prison and work 10 hours a day cleaning graffiti and doing gardening work for seniors who can no longer do it themsleves Not forgetting paid holidays for the gardeners and contractors who do all that work currently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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