Opposition to military recruitment crimps Bush plan for endless war

Opposition to military recruitment crimps Bush plan for endless war
Jenny Brown
July/August 2005

Two years after Bush declared his Iraq war "Mission Accomplished," his administration has found itself in the uncomfortable position of having to recruit "volunteers" to the military during wartime. Not only during wartime, but during a war which is deemed by a majority of people in the U.S to be not worth fighting.

For the last 6 months polls are consistently showing that majorities think the war in Iraq (1) is making us less safe, (2) is not worth fighting, and (3) they disapprove of Bush's handling of the war. In July, 53% of those called a told CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll that they didn't think it was worth going to war in Iraq (44% said it was). Fifty-four percent said the war was making us less safe (40% said 'more safe') and in June 56% of respondents told an ABC/Washington Post poll that they disapproved of 'the way Bush is handling the situation in Iraq.' Only 43% approved. (Major demonstrations against the war are planned in Washington, D.C. on September 24.)

Meanwhile, recruiters themselves are having nervous breakdowns, unable to meet their quota of one recruit a month. After it was revealed that some recruiters were lying to and threatening their potential recruits, Army recruiters nationwide were called in for a disciplinary session and pep talk.

Governors in several states are wondering aloud when their national guard units will return home and be available to deal with disaster relief should they be needed. Who will sign up for the Guard when "One weekend a month" turns into 2 years in someone else's country pushing around people who don't want you there. "I think all governors right now are worried about the long-term impact of long deployment and frequent deployment on recruiting and retention," Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee told the New York Times at a recent National Governor's Association meeting. (NYT, July 17.)

Meanwhile, parents and students have been exposing the increasingly invasive and deceptive recruiting methods used to convince high school students to join the military.

An outrageous section of the No Child Left Behind education act requires that schools give military recruiters the contact information for all their students, adding a sinister twist to the phrase "No Child Left Behind."

Students who individually opt out are punished for doing so by being told they will also not get information on other job training or college. However, either a student or a parent can submit a form which will require the school not to give the student's name to the military. Locally, students and parents are distributing the form and you can get it by contacting the GI Rights Hotline at 1-800-394-9544.

The North Central Florida GI Rights Hotline and Veterans for Peace are holding a workshop on "Student Privacy Rights and Your Teen's Tomorrow," on Saturday, July 30, at 1 p.m. at the downtown library. (See information below.) They will cover alternatives to military service as well as reveal some of the tactics used by recruiters.

Some things you might not know (from materials prepared by the GI Rights Hotline):

The military is not an educational institution, nor is it a social program for character development. The military is charged simply with preparing for and waging war.
The military is not bound by any guarantees to the enlistee, even if they are offered in a written contract. The military can change one's job field, pay status, or educational benefits at any time, for any reason, without prior notice.
Recruiters earn money by signing up young people for the military (the bonus just increased to $20,000 per recruit). The primary need right now is "boots on the ground" in combat and more and more of the support functions requiring technical training are being contracted out to private companies. The military recruiting budget is $2.7 billion per year, equal to approximately 10% of total Federal funding for public schools.
The Army is 40% behind in their recruitment quotas for 2005 resulting in extreme pressure on recruiters to sign your children up. As a consequence of 480 complaints received from January to May 2005 about improper conduct by recruiters, the Army called a national stand down on May 20, 2005 to examine problems ranging from recruiter lies about benefits and jobs to threats of prison time for not keeping appointments to covering up drug use of potential enlistees.
According to the US Veterans Administration, only 35% of veterans receive GI Bill funds for college, while 70% of students who apply for civilian financial aid (Pell grants and Stafford loans) receive help paying for college. All first year recruits have $1200 deducted from their pay towards the GI Bill, but 65% never get to use that money for their education and there is no refund.
Mangum and Ball, Ohio State researchers, who received funding from the military, found that only 12% of male veterans and 6% of female veterans surveyed made any use of skills learned in the military in their civilian jobs.
Prominent labor policy specialist Stephen Barley found that the average recent veteran will earn between 11% and 19% less than non-veterans from comparable socioeconomic backgrounds.
Delayed Enlistment Program: Today, nearly all military recruits sign a Delayed Enlistment contract. By signing this, recruits promise to report on a specific date (up to a year) in the future, at which time one's term of active-service begins. DEP is often particularly attractive to high school seniors who are unsure about what to do after graduation. A lot can happen in a year, and many young people change their minds. Although recruiters may suggest that backing out of one's DEP contract is illegal or impossible, the military presently releases all DEP recruits who request separation. Recruits may cancel their contract by sending a letter requesting separation to their local recruiting command - the address for which can be found in one's local phone book under US Government.
As long as the DEP recruit does not report for training at the end of their Delay period they will not officially become a member of the military, subject to Military Law.

More information Sources:
Family Privacy Campaign - Leave My Child Alone
Military Out of Our Schools Program
In Harms Way - How the Military markets enlistment

Bush and Cheney can declare endless war, and pick various countries to put in the Axis of Evil, but the country's warmaking capacity still depends on the consent of the population, consent which is slowly being withdrawn.

PRIVACY RIGHTS NOW & YOUR TEEN'S TOMORROW

An informational workshop for parents of high school students

In this workshop you will learn about:

No Child Left Behind Act-Section 9528: military recruitment & your child's privacy rights.
Before you enlist: Questions to ask military recruiters.
You CAN afford college! Financial aid facts & resources.
Positive opportunities after graduation.
AmeriCorps program.
Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities.
Careers in peacemaking and social change.
Learn about Conscientious Objector status.
Delayed Enlistment Program

Flyers, brochures and related resources will be made available.

Saturday, July 30th
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Alachua County Library Headquarters - meeting room A
401 E. University Ave.
Gainesville

For more information contact: Scott at 352 375-2563

This workshop is free and open to the public.

Organized by Veterans For Peace, G.I. Rights Hotline and concerned parents and residents of our community.