Teenage troopers!
We meet Britain’s youngest soldiers as they embark on their army careers…
Most 16-year-old girls spend their time studying for exams and hanging out with their best friends, but all Stephanie Fishwick wants to do is leave home and join the army!
Stephanie is one of 43 teenage boys and girls hoping to complete a gruelling five-month army training course. Yet being separated from their friends and family at such a young age can be tough for the new recruits – and their families, too.
Tears
‘On the first night, my dad called me crying,’ says Stephanie. ‘He asked me to come home and told me I was losing my best years, which was tough because I’ve never heard him cry before. He thinks I’m making a mistake but I know it’s the right decision for me. It’s my dream job.’
In this week’s first episode, the new intake head to the Army Foundation College in Harrogate, which is home to over a thousand junior soldiers aged 16 and 17.
Those who survive the training could be sent to fight on the front line by the age of 18, but many of the new recruits won’t reach the end of the demanding
programme.
Respect
Yet Stephanie is determined to stick it out and not end up going home, and wants to prove that she and the other female recruits belong in the army just as much as their male counterparts.
‘The boys didn’t respect us at first,’ she explains. ‘They thought we were weak, but it’s not true – we have just as much grit and determination as them.
‘One day we could be fighting together side by side, so they shouldn’t underestimate us!’