The Army has instructed field commands to make sure they are in compliance with an international treaty to prevent children from participating in combat. As a signatory to the Child Soldier Protocol of the 1992 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the U.S. has agreed to not force anyone under age 18 into military service, or to employ such soldiers in operations involving direct combat. To ensure compliance, the Army established a policy in 1993 that prohibits the assignment or deployment of child soldiers to duty stations outside the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and U.S. territories and possessions.

Interesting in that while we do allow soldiers to join when they are 17, they are volunteers and they must have their parents approval. In fact with all of our forces being volunteers, this treaty should only apply when there is a draft in place. Wait a minute the draft is only for those 18 - 26 years old. Why did the U.S. even sign a treaty that doesn't apply to them?

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