Your children and military recruiters

[unhappycamper]

It appears that the Department of War has stepped up efforts to convince your kids that joining the military is a good idea. Joining the Army or any - let me repeat that - ANY military organization is only one alternative for youngsters looking for something after High School or college.

All the come-ons: college tuition, travel, and self-discipline to name a few don't mean shit if you're dead, have life-altering wounds, or are suffering PTSD.

You need to educate yourself. Start with the Youth & Militarism pages on the American Friends Service Committee web site.

What is Counter Recruitment?

Counter-recruitment is what community members and activists call their efforts to dispel myths about the realities of military service and refute false information provided by military recruiters or advertising. Sometimes counter-recruiters are able to work in schools - alongside military recruiters - but most work in community groups or in public spaces due to lack of access to schools.

Find a counter-recruitment organization in your area. Talk to them about any concerns you may have.

Alternatives to the Military

The Pentagon spends billions of dollars every year targeting low-income youth and youth of color for enlistment in the military. The poverty draft ensures that those with less resources and less opportunity are disproportionately represented in the military. LGBTQI youth may find that their needs are not served at all outside of the military and certainly not inside it. Finding nonmilitary sources of jobs, health care, housing and other basic necessities can be a challenge. The following resources and websites may be helpful for youth seeking alternatives.

Materials can be found on this AFSC page.

Get your kids off the recruiters hit list - info on how to get your kids off is here.

Other resources include:
http://veteransforpeace.org/Recruitment_Education.vp.html
http://www.aclufl.org/issues/privacy/NCLBFAQFINAL.pdf

Teach your children that they should never take ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) tests. Neither recruiters nor teachers can force your child to take this test. "Just say no" is the only answer.


Learn your rights, and make sure you teach your kids their rights. You might just save their lives.

[etherealtruth]

1. thanks for this

I have a child that will be entering high school in the fall ... I have talked to all of my children, at great length about this. More info = more power

edit: spelling, grammar, coherence

[Monkeyman]

2. K&R

[T Wolf]

3. Thank you for posting this. It does take vigilance on the part of parents

to protect our kids from these predators. For my daughters, I made sure their names were on the DO NOT give to the military list. It took extra effort to get their school to comply with the law.

It is the job of adults to protect children. My wife, as a guidance counselor, does her best to make sure the cannon fodder hunters do not get an unfair advantage that they receive at many schools. She also lets the students and parents know that they can resist.

[alstephenson]

4. My boyfriend is involved in counter-recruiting...

here in Arizona. He and other members of Veterans for Peace go to any high school that will allow them in to talk to the kids about the realities of war and being in the service.

[unhappycamper]

5. We do the same here. n/t

[uppityperson]

8. Good job, kick and recommend.

[gratuitous]

11. Isn't that nice? Any school that will "allow" them in

While the law requires that schools roll out the red carpet for recruiters, thanks to No Child Left Behind and the USA PATRIOT Act. These federal mandates nicely rammed through by the GOP, which likes to pass laws like this while proclaiming that they're really in favor of local control of schools by the people who know the local population best. Portland Public Schools at one time banned military recruiters, then made the military follow the rules set up for every other outside recruiter. Now they have to provide what is in effect preferential treatment to the military, without regard to what a majority of the people with kids in school or a majority of the school district's population might want.

[blondeatlast]

6. Kick, kick, KICK! I tell every parent I know about Leave My Child alone. nt

[blondeatlast]

7. Another resource: Leave My Child Alone

http://themmob.org/lmca/

Regardless of which organization you choose, use them and spread the word.
Thanks.

[kimmerspixelated]

9. It's in the fine print of the NCLB Act,

right? That the recruiters should be allowed on campus. It makes me sick!

[unhappycamper]

10. True.

But your children do have to listen to them. Your children do not have to take any tests nor sign any papers.

[babylonsister]

12. Recommend, and I'm sending this to everyone I know with kids. nt

[DesertRat]

13. K&R

[Dinger]

14. Wow, Thanks! May I Pass This Along?

Lots of good info here.:)

[unhappycamper]

15. Please do. n/t