Back to the Seventies with the NUT

The biggest teachers' union passed a motion at its annual conference calling on members to boycott visits from the armed forces to schools. Speakers claimed the MoD glamorised war in its recruitment campaigns, and one delegate said: "We (should) have material from the MoD saying 'Join the Army and we will send you to carry out the imperialist occupation of other people's countries."
What tosh.
The military has always been an honourable career choice for young men and women who see the services as an opportunity to expand their horizons and develop valuable skills and a disciplined approach to life.
Armies are sometimes deployed to fight wars declared by politicians whose motives may not be entirely honourable: but that doesn't make the military culpable.
Whether we like it or not, even a modern state needs military force to protect both its own citizens and those of other countries. The union seems to think that if you dismantle the UK's armed forces, you can close your eyes and wish away all the bad guys in the world.
Some NUT members relish the prospect of Britain's military strength being weakened by their actions, as if the past century of aggression from fascist and communist states had never happened.
If any history teachers joined in this muddle-headed posturing, I despair for the state of education.