The Issue

A tear-stained petition crosses your desk, signed by a newly-formed coalition of parents whose school-age children have been killed in action. They demand you revisit the nation's policy on minors in the military.

The Debate

"It's barbaric that we have children in the military!" sobs bereaved father Zack Thiesen. "Why do we put our little ones in harm's way? There must be a better way to keep this country safe. I'd gladly go to the front lines instead, if it meant my children's safety. Our kids should be in school, not the workplace and definitely not the army."

"We really need that child labor to keep the military running smoothly," concludes auditor Dave Steele after reviewing the budget for the thousandth time, "but they don't necessarily need to be frontline infantry. In order to console parents, we could restrict children under the age of majority to non-combat roles such as maintenance and cooking. That sounds like a fair compromise to me."

This is the position your government is preparing to adopt.

"It's not our vertically-challenged recruits that are the problem; it's the guns!" bellows Quartermaster Sergeant Fleur Han. "They're too big for our pint-sized patriots. What we need are appropriately-sized weapons to outfit the army. It might not protect the grunts in combat, but at least they'll take a few more Bigtopians with them when they go. Shoot, we could even export the miniature weapons - turn ourselves a profit while we're at it!"

Вот видите, я не такой уж и злобный диктатор :3