By By Justin King Oct 27, 2013 in World This month the Obama administration agreed to provide military aid to three nations listed by the U.S. State Department as employing child soldiers after granting waivers to avoid a law prohibiting the aid. This A child soldier is defined under the CPSA as anyone under the age of 18 forced into the military service of a state, anyone under the age of 15 who volunteers for service in a state military, anyone under the age of 18 who is serving in a non-state military, and anyone under the age of 18 who is participating in direct hostilities. The reality of child soldiers: Jessica Alexander won a Fulbright grant to conduct research on the subject. In an In order to extinguish any family ties, rebels forced children to kill or rape their relatives. This was torture, and a kind of insurance policy: Now, even if they wanted to escape, the children would have no home to return to. Girls as young as seven were taken as bush wives. Some of the older ones became pregnant, and some of the younger ones bled to death after sex. Often, girls needed surgery to repair the damage to their bodies caused by rape and early pregnancy. Those who gave birth had their children labeled rebel pikin -- rebel children -- and were rejected back home. After the war, for those who endured the physical damage, it was the psychological scars that lingered. She went on to relay experiences of social workers who dealt with children after their tours of war ended. One man, Francis, told her “They were so stubborn. Troublesome. They picked fights,” he recalled, shaking his head. He looked ahead as he remembered more. “They were boastful about their exploits. One boy, he came up to me and said, ‘Do you know how many arms I’ve cut off? Two boxes of arms and I will soon be a second lieutenant.’ They didn’t think they had even done anything wrong.” Nations employing child soldiers in 2013 according the U.S. State Department (those in italics were granted at least partial waivers to receive military aid): 1. Burma 2. Central African Republic (CAR) 3. Chad 4. Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 5. Rwanda 6. Somalia 7. South Sudan 8. Sudan 9. Syria 10. Yemen determination authorized by President Obama stated that it was in the national interest of the United States to continue providing military aid to South Sudan, Yemen, and Chad; waiving a prohibition in the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 (CPSA). The President also granted partial waivers to two other countries, one being Somalia where the U.S. aid will be used in part to pay troop stipends for a military employing child soldiers.This year , the U.S. State Department put out a list of ten nations that employ child soldiers. The United States is currently providing military aid to half of the nations prohibited by the CPSA, and President Obama recently waived a provision in another federal law that prohibits arms shipments to terrorists to allow the United States to intervene by aiding the Syrian opposition.A child soldier is defined under the CPSA as anyone under the age of 18 forced into the military service of a state, anyone under the age of 15 who volunteers for service in a state military, anyone under the age of 18 who is serving in a non-state military, and anyone under the age of 18 who is participating in direct hostilities.Jessica Alexander won a Fulbright grant to conduct research on the subject. In an article promoting her book about her experiences, she talked about the difficulty in proving age in countries where birth certificates are rare. She went on to talk about the harsh realities child soldiers endure.She went on to relay experiences of social workers who dealt with children after their tours of war ended. One man, Francis, told her1. Burma2. Central African Republic (CAR)3. Chad4. Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)5. Rwanda6. Somalia7. South Sudan8. Sudan9. Syria10. Yemen More about Child soldiers, Sudan, Yemen, Chad, Somalia Child soldiers Sudan Yemen Chad Somalia Military aid Obama