Young recruits remain undeterred

By Wyre Davies BBC News

The Army recently moved its recruitment centre in Merthyr Tydfil to a high profile spot in the town, to help meet the 9,000 new recruits it needs every year

This week the government announced that it was intending to send 500 more British soldiers to Afghanistan. It is a fair bet a significant proportion of those soldiers will be from Wales.

For more than a century the Army has drawn many of its foot soldiers from across Wales.

And despite record numbers of UK troops being killed or injured in Afghanistan, there's no shortage of young Welsh men and women queuing to sign up.

A few months ago - the Army moved its recruitment centre in Merthyr Tydfil right into the middle of town, in a prime location just next to the Tesco megastore.

It's a new, well-staffed and impressive set-up. "Army Careers Here Today" says the billboard outside the office.

In a town and a part of Wales that is suffering in the economic downturn that's not an easy offer to ignore.

All of my mates are in university, drinking it up and asking why I'm doing this Catherine Church

Inside the office, as videos played extolling the virtues of a career in the Army, I met three young people from across the Valleys, all hoping to join the army but for very different reasons.

Catherine Church is from Brecon and has just dropped out of university. She's a keen sportswoman who says it had always been her dream to join the Army.

"I hated university - it really wasn't my thing", said the 19-year-old, who is now hoping to become an army medic.

"My dad and mum were both in the forces and my sister is in the RAF. All of my mates are in university, drinking it up and asking why I'm doing this but no-one's really tried to dissuade me", said Catherine, eagerly anticipating the opportunity to go to places like Afghanistan.

Like Catherine, 22-year-old Julian Hamblin from Tredegar says he's wanted to join up for some time.

"I've got a couple of mates in the Army and they've only got good things to say about it", says Julian.

He has tried to join the Army before, but didn't get through selection. But having failed to get a decent job in his home town of Tredegar, Julian has now got himself into shape and is ready to have a crack at the Army's selection process again.

"I want to get a career - to make something of my life. I'd like to be a driver-engineer or work in communications," Julian told me, as he prepared for a computer-based aptitude test, the first stage on the lengthy road to becoming a soldier.

Then I spoke to Sean Nash - just 17 and from Ebbw Vale, one of the hardest-hit towns in the valleys.

I want to get a career - to make something of my life Julian Hamblin

He left school with few qualifications. He's decided to try and join the Army because there's simply nothing else for him in Ebbw Vale.

"I didn't really think about much at school… I wasn't really interested and now there aren't many jobs around for me", said a boyish looking Sean who'd come along to the recruitment office with his mum. I got the distinct feeling that, although he clearly didn't want to sit around doing nothing at home, becoming a soldier was almost an "option of last resort" for Sean, although he too tries to think positively about the possibility of having to fight in Afghanistan.

An "option of last resort" is certainly not how the Army sees itself. Even though 2009 has been a terrible year for British armed forces in Afghanistan - more than 200 troops had been killed by start of this month, with hundreds more injured - that doesn't seem to be putting off would-be recruits.

Brigadier Jolyon Jackson is in charge of army recruitment. He says about 9,000 new soldiers are needed every year to keep the Army up to strength.

Things are "going well" at the minute, says Brigadier Jackson.

"We've always been very choosy about who we recruit. For every 10 people who make initial contact with us, we end up taking about one recruit… but there are huge opportunities for those looking for a long and rewarding career."

On the vexed issue of whether army recruiters gloss-over the grim realities of fighting in places like Afghanistan and the high number of casualties this year, Brigadier Jackson is unequivocal.

"All the people who pass out of our training fully understand everything they might be getting themselves in to", said the Brigadier.

I didn't really think about much at school… now there aren't many jobs around for me Sean Nash

"We cannot have soldiers on operations who do not want to be there, who do not understand why they are there and who do not understand the risks."

Towns like Merthyr Tydfil, Ebbw Vale, Bridgend and Wrexham have always provided more than their fair share of soldiers to the British army.

In these times of economic strife senior military brass acknowledge that the Army is an increasingly attractive option for young people from Welsh inner-cities.

How Catherine, Julian and Sean progress only time will tell. None of them is absolutely guaranteed a place in the Army - but if they are successful they will almost certainly find themselves on the front-line in Afghanistan sooner or later.