It is a balmy Thursday evening in north-east London and a dozen teenagers in combat fatigues are practising first aid on each other inside an army cadet training centre.
“Remember, never leave a casualty alone as they might freeze to death,” an instructor reminds them as a newer group of recruits in the yard outside get to grips with marching under the watchful eye of L/Cpl Erik Hanuschi, a cadet veteran at 17.
“I joined because my mum wanted [me] to, because of the discipline and stuff, to instil it. I didn’t know if I was going to like it but, eventually, after two parade nights, I was like: ‘OK, this is pretty good,’” he says, giving voice to one of the attractions of the army-sponsored youth movement to successive governments, schools and some parents.
L/Cpl Erik Hanuschi: ‘I didn’t know if I was going to like it but, eventually, I was like: “OK, this is pretty good”.’ Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian
Yet the cadets are now the frontline of something new – albeit harking back to their historical roots in times of looming French or German invasions – after what the recent strategic defence review described as Keir Starmer’s launch of a “national conversation” on defence and security.
While the review’s recommendations for billions to be spent on weaponry captured the headlines, lesser noticed plans that could have an even bigger impact on everyday life in Britain involve “reconnecting” defence with society.
The next two years will see “public outreach events” across the UK “explaining” current and future threats and the rationale for more defence spending. Part of this will involve the armed forces becoming “more visible” in society and the sight of people in uniform less rare in daily life.
A potentially controversial plank involves the Ministry of Defence (MoD) working with the Department for Education “to develop understanding of the armed forces among young people in schools”. One vehicle for this could be the current curriculum review.
However, another revolves around a 30% expansion of school- and community-based cadet forces by 2030, with a greater ambition to reach 250,000 in the longer term.
Alistair Carns, the minister for veterans and people, told the Guardian the MoD will be “mapping” out areas across the UK where the cadets can be expanded, with a view to increasing numbers from 140,000 to 180,000.
Carns views the cadets as a “critical component” to increasing public understanding of defence and breathing new life into connections that have waned.
He added: “You’re more likely to know a veteran now than you are to know someone serving, and so society’s connection to defence and the understanding of the utility of defence, and why [it] is really important – protecting the freedoms that we all enjoy – isn’t necessarily understood.”
The MoD will be mapping out areas across the UK where cadets can be expanded, with a view to increasing numbers by 40,000. Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian
The plans have earned a qualified welcome from the Association of School and College Leaders, which told the Guardian that cadet forces “work very well” in many schools and that the expansion was “understandable in the light of the security threats faced by the UK, and could help to foster wider understanding of the part played by the armed forces in keeping us safe”.
However, its general secretary, Pepe Di’Iasio, added: “The big challenge is going to be the funding, staffing and facilities necessary for expanding cadet forces in this way. Schools and colleges are under huge financial pressure and many are left with no option other than to reduce extracurricular activities.”
Rather than recruits, one of the biggest challenges to the plans is expected to be finding adult volunteers. Carns is examining how more adults – including former soldiers – could be incentivised to become involved. He and those running the cadets are also eager to talk up how the movement has changed, with a greater focus on Stem skills and exploring modern technology.
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Prof Simon Denny, who has led independent and MoD-commissioned research into the cadets, said: “We’re going to see changes reflecting the reality of modern warfare as seen in Ukraine, more kit and things like simulators, which the air cadets are already using.
“Everyone also now uses drones. There are cadet detachments with budgets who will have gone out and bought one. It’s obvious then that AI will be part of it – think of how the sea and air cadets could use it.”
Back at the cadet training session, Maj Tony Adams recalled using a variant of the Lee Enfield bolt action rifle – first used in the second Boer war – when he joined the cadets in 1984.
Adams, who later served in the regular army and now volunteers as a cadet leader, emphasised that the cadets are not a recruiting vehicle for the army, but was candid about the pull factor of guns when it came to why many youngsters join.
“It’s what makes us different. It’s who we are,” he said.
L/Cpl Mia Bondzie: ‘I would want to look at something like communications or the intelligence side, rather than down on the ground.’ Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian
L/Cpl Mia Bondzie, 15, spoke of having grandparents who had served and said she would consider the army in the long run.
“I’m a very maths-oriented person, so maybe I would want to look at something like communications or the intelligence side, rather than actually focusing on the infantry or down on the ground,” she added.
Among the dozen or so cadets taking part in the first aid session – most of whom were young women – there was a striking show of hands in response to some questions. At least three had put their medical skills to use in the real world, at school and in the home, while a majority said they would consider joining the army.