And in fact most officer cadets, contrary to what one might expect, do consider another job. Only around ten percent of training corps members will go on to any sort of career in the armed forces, and almost all of the students I speak to during my visit to the training camp tell me that they see the OTC as nothing more than an enjoyable extra to add to their CV – a well-regarded hobby that brings in a little extra money, thanks to the £36 daily pay awarded to officer cadets.
Sarah Gitshom, at Easter training camp for the first time, is enthusiastic about the experience. Sheltering in a concrete shed to escape the din of the gunfire blaring from the next door firing range, Sarah tells me: “I get loads of benefits from being in the OTC. I’m sharing a flat in halls with twelve other people, and – no offence to them – all they do is go to university, maybe have a job, and get drunk; but we’re getting so many skills – not just shooting and so on, but skills that you can take out into the world. I’m running around, getting fit, and I’ve got a completely new group of friends. There’s a social side to it as well.”
The students I talk with seem appalled that anyone would want to ban the OTC from campus events. Everybody, even speaking anonymously, is overwhelmingly positive about the whole OTC experience. As one fourth year student puts it, “It’s not like it’s a big tunnel from the OTC into the army – it’s a bit like joining a sports team, only more full on.”
Recent events, however, have brought to attention a number of people who disagree with the idea of the OTC and other cadet organisations as being harmless fun. A motion passed by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) recently condemned army recruitment in schools, accusing the Ministry of Defence of providing “misleading” information to vulnerable pupils. Adverts displayed this month in the subway stations nearest to Glasgow University – and to several local schools – could certainly be seen in this light, with a soldier pictured next to the statement: “Things can get pretty rough out in Iraq – especially when there’s an Old Firm game on.” The posters clearly emphasise the camaraderie and recreational side of life in the forces, without any mention of the bleaker aspects of warfare, and so could easily give vulnerable people a misleading idea of what a career in the army might be like. But should university students be considered part of this group of vulnerable people?
Website: Chris Watt. All articles remain copyright of individual contributors. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the editors or anyone at the University of Glasgow
Captain Brian Simpson, the officer in charge of the Glasgow OTC, doesn’t think so. He can understand concerns about young people being tricked into joining the army, but he sees such worries as outdated and misguided – particularly where students are concerned.
“We’re pretty up front,” he tells me. “We’re not dealing with idiots; these are educated, aware people. They read the news. This isn’t the nineteenth century, where the navy is press-ganging people off the street. Even within the serving armed forces, there are ways for people to leave. People are informed nowadays, and they’re not automatons.”
The range of opinion within the Glasgow OTC certainly supports Captain Simpson’s assessment. Several of the students I speak to express disapproval over the Iraq war – though all are extremely supportive of the men and women involved in the fighting – but none sees this as having any impact on their involvement with the Officer Training Corps.
Daniel Lee, a fourth year student in his first year of the OTC, tells me that his political views are not in line with what one might expect from a potential army officer. Though admitting to some fears about how welcome his “very left-wing” politics might be in the Corps, he has been pleased with the reception he received.
By Chris Watt
Photo: James Porteous