You
wouldn't buy a car without looking under the hood. Don't enlist before
you check out the reality of
military life that lies behind the glamorous television ads and glossy
brochures. Check it out carefully.
The military and its recruiters are present in almost every school
in the United States. Recruiters are at schools to sell students military
enlistment. They use a sales pitch that is riddled with half-truths
and deceptions and individual recruiters will resort to outright lies
to sign young people up.
The dangers of military enlistment are known to too few people. And
the extent of the military's presence in our schools is known to even
fewer. In many school districts military recruiters have unlimited
access to students. The military makes its sales pitch in schools
via:
* Local military recruiters, who may be allowed to
pull prospective recruits from scheduled classes and even have an
office in the school;
* JROTC which, although touted as an educational
program, is little more than an intensive recruiting program;
* Adventure vans that tour the country with M16 simulators
and high tech video presentations;
* Career fairs;
* Classroom presentations;
* Referrals from local guidance counselors;
* Students taking the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Test
(ASVAB);
* Lists of students, with addresses, provided by the high
school itself.
We believe the military's sales pitch should not go unchallenged and
activists have gone to court to assert that right. Two federal court
decisions have established the right to visit a school that allows
military recruiters and talk about:
* The myths behind recruiters promises of skills training, travel
and money for college;
* The real mission of the military: to fight wars;
* Moral arguments against participating in war;
* Alternatives to military enlistment;
* Careers in social justice;
* Alternative ways to finance college.
In Memphis
we find ourselves in an alarming situation. ROTC is MANDATORY
in two city high schools, while the vast majority of our high
school students remain painfully unaware of the realities of military
service. We have found through research that there were only a
"handful" of opt out forms turned in to the City Schools,
suggesting that our the School Board has not adequately informed
students of their rights.
The Peace and Justice Center's Counter Recruitment Campaign seeks
to balance the scales. Providing the information necessary for
our youth and their parents to make responsible decisions regarding
military service. Please use the resources below to educate yourself
and those around you. Or contact
us to get involved.
The Opt-Out form (for Memphis city and county)- download
form
How to get out of the Delayed Entry Program- download forms english
• spanish
The
Myth of Money for College.
The $20,000/$40,000 bonus myth.
What recruiters are telling high school students.
Concientous
Objection- A resource for Guidance Counselors
Military Alternatives- Careers
in Social Change
Military
Recruiter Handbook- See how they manipulate the system
Army
Adventure Vans-They're Flashy. They're Dangerous.
They're Targeting 500,000 students. They're Coming To A School
Near You.
Contact us by email:
George Grider, Coordinator
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