War Resisters Inject Truth into Military Recruitment

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.ontheissuesmagazine.com/2011summer/2011summer_bader.php

he setting changes but the scene does not: Men and women in crisply pressed uniforms enter public high schools across the country and cajole the teenagers they meet into signing on the dotted line to serve Uncle Sam.

Thanks to Section 9528 of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, recruiters from the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy have the same access to secondary school students as college recruiters or potential employers. This, in concert with mandatory Selective Service registration for all 18-year-old males and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery exam that is given to nearly three-quarters of a million high school juniors and seniors each year, has prompted many domestic peace activists to organize opposition to the militarization of youth. They advocate "truth-in-recruiting," arguing that lofty promises made at the time of enlistment -- extensive travel, scholarships or an easy route to U.S. citizenship -- often fail to materialize once service begins.

What’s more, these peace activists say that they are paying particular attention to female recruits, warning them of potential pitfalls: The risks associated with wartime service even in "non-combat" positions, as well as the too-common experience of sexual harassment and assault by unit supervisors and peers.
Little-Known Facts

The War Resisters League, an 88-year-old national group with more than 25 chapters across the U.S., targets students and, when possible, tables at schools to provide little-known facts about the military: One in four soldiers gets a less than honorable discharge, making them ineligible for college money; nearly one-third of females seeking health care from the Veteran’s Administration report experiencing a rape or attempted rape while conscripted.

More at the link --