The President told the nation that he was alarmed at violence in the nation’s cities—he decided to send new infantry to stop the crime. (Coincidentally, all the cities were run by Mayors from the opposition party.) True, the troops the President sent were new: infants, from the population tree—infantry.
The new infantry was well armed with automatic weapons, on training wheels. They were positioned on every street corner of the nation’s capital, some in strollers. As they arrested suspected criminals and illegal immigrants, they sucked on soothers. About a hundred people they confronted were shot dead when they yelled at the infantry and scared it.
No leader had previously tried infants as soldiers. It was considered impractical. In the new world, however, parents thought it wonderful their toddlers were serving the nation (and learning new skills.) More, toddlers were trained to use automatic weapons which had little kickback. Should they develop PTSD, they had a whole lifetime of therapy to address it.
Crime had been dropping and the infantry arrested few, but they were a presence citizens understood. The new infantry became standard. Barracks were combined with daycare centres. Their early lives were as soldiers and they had no other skills, so on turning eighteen almost all enlisted. Therapists were hired in the truckload to help the new soldiers. Other nations recognized the value of the new infantry and began their own.
Training was easy, as using computerized modern weapons was often like playing video games.