The facts are clear…
The facts are clear: in a time in which US military forces are overstretched to the breaking point, military recruiters are under increasing pressure to provide more fodder, but kids just ain't joining up. Recruitment levels are at historic lows.
The reasons are clear: Join up, and you'll more than likely be shipped to Iraq, where you'll have to wade around a hostile territory in full combat gear in 120 degree heat, for miserable pay, and face the daily risk of being turned into a spray of red mist.
Who'da thunk that an 18-year-old kid would turn his or her nose up at such an offer? Plus, to make matters worse:
The inner-city kids who have been the mainstay of the military's recruitment efforts have been seeing Iraqi vets come home, and are wising up... They know that the grand promises of a military career ring hollow, in Bush's america, and they just ain't buying it.
So, in response to the continuing dearth of new bodies, the military recruiters have been resorting to more and more desperate measures- often in collusion with local school boards, and local businesses.
Many are familiar with a recent high-school student's investigative work, showing how a military recruiter was willing to go to any length, to sign him up for a stint. I have gotten a dozen e-mails from students, telling me the sweet-talk and outright lies they got from recruiters, at their schools, streetcorners, and shopping malls. The worst of which follows:
A word about (name deleted for privacy): His closed casket was displayed in the Frankfort, Ohio, high school gym for one school day before being given a military burial ---- sort of a "photo op" for pumping up the local farmboys (bored, poor, and throbbin' to get out of the area). Yesterday's awards assembly (during which my friend's son was given a $45,000 cardboard check) was staged by the local army recruiter in order to say "You guys could all be heroes like (name deleted for privacy) -- and here's one guy who has already stepped forward." (Then hands the 18-year-old a fake check for $45,000 -- which is what he'll get when he's finished his 'mission' in Iraq.)
This sort of behavior needs to be exposed- and while the corporate media certainly ain't gonna do it- I might as well take up the slack, here, with your help.
To young people- students- everywhere in this (dysfunctional, yet still great) land of ours:
Have you witnessed unusual/excessive recruiting techniques on behalf of the US military, in your neighborhoods/schools? If so, Let me know, and I'll post your account of these activities, here. Don't worry- I won't post your contact info, and your identity will remain anonymous.
FROM M.P.:
I was in the Navy for 2 years and got to witness just how far recruiters will go to get some more bodies in and meet their quotas. I returned home for leave and they tell you that if you help out and do recruitment suty for 5 days, these 5 days won’t count against you, so many people (including myself did this.) These recruiters make you go to popular places where minors hang out. They go to the mall, the movies, fast food places. They invade everyone’s space. They even had some going door to door trying to meet their monthly gioals. They do not care about who they get either. The girls that they get have to score 50 or better on a test and the men, only need a 20 or better. I wanted to be in Music and heard about how great the Navy band was, instead I got put on gate duty for 2 years, working 14 hours day in the cold, not getting to go to school either. They boast about all of the opportunities there are, but in reality there are none. They deny your requests to go to school, even if it’s on your own time. I had asthma and they still let me in, even though they are not suppose to. They also get you extra money by selling out 20 of your closest friends. They will move you up a paygrade in exchange for information on how they can recruit other people. So many people sell their friends out just to make some money. They even go looking for kids in libraries that are STUDYING!!! It’s ridiculous how far these jerks will go.
FROM K.G-W.:
I recently turned sixteen and am an honors student in my sophomore year of high school. As I was sorting
through the mail this morning I found a pamphlet from the National Guard. I looked through the information,
which included an obviously fake letter from a fellow named "Ryan" who was in the National Guard. "Ryan"
told me how exciting his experience in the National Guard was and how it helped him get a great job in an
accounting firm. The letter was so ambiguous it was quite frankly pitiful. How sincere, I get some crock
letter from some fictitious character urging me to risk my life. This is not something that would inspire
me to sacrifice my freedom for some coked-up cowboy's war.
After I read this letter I was beginning to feel really paranoid and hunted, and, if I may be less than eloquent, pissed off. What kind of police state thinks that they can start military recruiting at the age of sixteen? I won't be making the decisions on what to do with my life for another two years or more.
At first I thought that this was a rite of passage in my life. I'm finally old enough for the government to start harassing me about military service. Then I remembered, there were times before when I have been subjected to Military recruiters in a subtler manner.
When I was in fifth grade we had a career day where all of the local businessmen and women would come in and talk about their careers. One of the guest speakers was a National Guardsman and he talked about
all of the wonderful things he has done in the military. He also advertised the fact that there were many opportunities in the Guard and how fun it was. (What ten-year-old boy doesn't want to handle a machine gun? Honestly!) Every school career day I have ever been at has had an army recruiter in some form or another. It is sadistic and perverted for a government to begin recruiting for the military as young as ten years old.
There is another problem with this recruitment strategy, which is the fact that they are forcefully subjecting kids to this crap in a public school. It would be totally (okay, maybe not totally) different if kids were given the option to listen to recruiters speak or not. However, the fact is that public school is compulsory and parents have no reasonable means in which to protect their kids from army recruiters (Unless they are part of the wealthy Republican Patrician class and can send their kids to a private school!)
When I was subjected to these lectures at school, there were no waivers or letters delivered to my parents. They had no way of protecting me from this. And to think, we had to get a form filled out in order for us to learn about pubic hair in a puberty education program. Let's see, what's more dangerous...pubic hair or getting killed in a farce of a war. (It's obviously pubic hair...I can see their logic now...)
Why do the youth have to pay the price for the greedy ambitions of neo-fascists? That is what I would like
to know. Can somebody please explain this to me?
FROM D.C.:
I live in a small town with two public middle schools and one highschool, every wednes day there is a "show" put on at the highschool by the army, (one of the largest programs at our school is also the ROTC) I used to be in orchastra but then noticed how much I hated my teacher,
there is one orchastra teacher for the high school and one of the middle schools. Last Year our orchastra teacher told all our class that we could go see the army rock band and skip the school day, or we could stay in school and go on with the ordinary activities, remember, this is the orchastra going to a rock concert. When the class was over, which is the last class of the day, I went to talk to some of my friends in band, who also had been told this, along with my friends from the Jazz band, the choir, and the percssion group, when I got home I found out that my older brother and everyone else in the highschool had been invited to the concert during school hours also. After the concert I asked my friends what happened and at the end a recruiter came out and started telling them about all the activities you can enter in the army.
I also have one other shorter story:
Recently we got a phone call from a recruiter, my mom answered the phone and the recruiter quickly says "may I speak to Mr.Crockett, so my mother casually answers that there are several Crocketts in the house and also corrects him that the name is hyphenated, the recruiter ignores this and asks for Max Crockett, my older brother, my mom asks why and he begins to preach about all the great opertunities in the army, so my mom tells him that he should be ashamed to ask for the minor and to dismiss the guardians, the recruiter makes a quick false apology and my mom interupts him never to call back again and hangs up the phone.
FROM D.B.:
Whats up. My name is (...) and I have been in the Army for almost thirteen years. I have served in many operations around the world, most recently Iraq. After returning from there I was put on recruiting duty. I didn't ask for it, as a matter of fact I requested to be taken off of recruitment orders. I have only been doing it for about a month or so.
the reason I am writing is to tell you that we aren't all the same. I have seen in the news and read in the papers about all of the recruiter improprieties going on in our country. But that I don't believe speaks for a majority of us doing this job. I truly believe that I recruit with integrity, which may account for me not having put anyone in the army yet. If I'm lucky maybe they will get mad at me and kick me out of recruiting. When we had our recruiter stand down day, we had to attend classes where we were reminded of how we are supposed to follow the rules and recruit with integrity. I believe in this completely. But when the floor was opened for discussion people kept making the comment that a recruiter had traded his integrity for a contract. I don't believe this. This recruiter most likely traded his integrity for some time with his family, he traded it for some time to relax a bit, and probably traded it for what he felt like was his career, that he had possibly spent the last 10+ years in every part of the world working on, that was being threatened all the time. I can't speak for the norm except from what I've heard, cause I've only been doing it a little while. But we work usually six days a week, I go to work around seven every morning and I get home usually between nine and ten o'clock at night. We are told just put people in and you want have to work so late. I swear this is harder on my family than when I was deployed.
But anyway to the point. I don't believe in lying. Not because I am religious or anything cause I'm not. But because I just don't do it. I am recruiting in Alabama, and when I talk to people about the Army, I tell them about the good times I've had in there, and the things I've done that I'm proud of. In the past, up until this last deployment, we have gone and deterred war. There have been exceptions where force was needed to deter it, such as Somolia, Haiti, and any of the sqwirmishes in the Balkans. But I felt like we were fighting for a noble cause back then. Molosovich was attempting genocide of an entire race of people. But when asked by people about Iraq I don't lie to them. I tell them how I truly feel. I don't think that our cause there is just. I'm not sure I know the reasons behind it all, but I do believe that it's wrong to invade another country and occupy their land. Thats almost like blasphemy down here. Recruiters as a whole aren't the ones that lied to America anymore than the soldiers I went to Iraq with are the ones that killed all those people. The only real liars out here today is George W. Bush and his administration. They are the ones that lied to America and the world. they are the ones that told us that we were going into Iraq for the better of America, they are the ones that told us that our intentions were honorable, they are the ones that has lied about everything since the beginning. Not one thing that Bush has told the American people has been true. I think it's kind of funny though, how I've been told all my life, growing up in North Carolina that SATAN IS THE FATHER OF ALL LIES, and here the Christian church is rallying behind what has to be one of satans truest disciples. I mean if he's the father of lies, than George W. Bush must be his true flesh and blood, cause Bush is a lie incarnate. Also, the stickers you see on there cars that supports Bush and then they have another sticker, or a hat on their head that says I SUPPORT THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. I guess all of them except thou shalt not kill, or does that one apply to presidents. But here the Christian world is rallying behind George W. Bush, or Hitler the second and spreading their bullshit gospel to us all. Now I'm way off the subject of what I was writing about. I mean, historically Jesus was a Liberal, Hitler was a Conservative.
Anyway, I will let you go. I just wanted you to know that everyone that wears a uniform and lives in the south didn't fall for his crap. I voted for Kerry and am oppossed to everything he has done up to this point. I know what your question is, cause I get it asked to me a lot. If I am so oppossed to what our government stands for why am I still in the Army? The truth is that I was involuntarily extended to stay in an indefinite amount of time. then when I came up on orders for recruiter they said I had to do this at least three years. But who knows, maybe someone in Washington will grow some nuts and look into impeaching this asshole, then maybe I will be proud of my uniform again.
I would appreciate you writing me back, and if you have any questions at all concerning recruiting, and what policies are being put out I will gladly let you know. I just ask that you keep it between us, and you can say anything that I say, just keep my name out of it. thanks, D.
FROM S.B.:
I was 17 and a trainee at Phoenix Job Corps in 2001. I looked into the military pre-nine-eleven with very little interest and none reciprocated. After 9/11 though, my "recruiter" was all over the place. She'd be there when I turned a corner, calling me at bad times, making plans for me to come sign up. I was very honest with her about how reluctant I was to go. Step by step I was closer to oath without being able to think clearly about my decision/s. When it came to the physical, I again was very honest and confessed to Sgt. McFadden that I had recently smoked pot and was sure to fail a U.A. The bottom line is, despite the fact that I felt genuinely uncomfortable with all of this, I didn't know what M.O.S. to choose quite yet and I had offered to put all of this off for a month to get clean and think things over, she coaxed me into it anyways. Sgt McFadden picked me up at 5:30am and parked outside of the building. She gave me 4 large black pills and two 24oz bottles of arrowhead water. I failed my drug t
est and she was out of my life. But not for long, I ended up leaving Job Corp a couple of months later, I got a job a Sonic Drive-In and she started showing up there. She somehow obtained my new home phone number and ya-dee, ya-dee, ya-dee. Whatever. To this day I wish I could have been as enlightened as I am now, I would have told that woman to go to hell.
From J.E.E.:
I recently played for a friends chorus concert in a local middle school. When we rehearsed I noticed the American flag on the stage - normal stuff. The night of the concert I was appalled when we turned to do the pledge that a bulletin board was placed next to the flag that was full of recruiting posters (5 or 6 in all) including the Uncle Sam wants you, An army of one, etc.
Chills ran up my spine as I wondered if any parents even realized that their children (mostly 11 -13 in age) were being targeted. As far as I know nobody complained about it. VERY SCAREY!
From A.G.U.:
Hey Eric, I'm 17 and will be a senior at Burroughs High School in Burbank, California in this upcoming school year. Ever since ninth grade, recruiters have come in during lunch time to talk to and attempt to recruit students. On these occasions they don't use any blatantly malicious techniques, but they do have a way of sucking the kids into their BS. They tell corny jokes and act like they are friends of the students, and it always irks me to see the kids laughing, smiling, and going along with what the recruiter has to say. At the end of each discussion they usually try to set up a meeting to discuss "job opportunities." They also, as someone mentioned before, play concerts during lunch in order to appeal to musicians and look like they are cool and hip. They cover a handful of horrible songs and at the end they talk about the opportunities musicians have in the military. I guess the concert also appeals to the kids who think the Army is so cool because they just covered a song that is played every 5 minutes on MTV. Now we aren't really forced to listen to the recruiters at lunch, but on a few occasions recruiters have stepped right into my classroom, the teacher usually giving them a smile and an O.K. to disrupt our lesson. In my web page design class the recruiters came in and talked to us about technological jobs in the military. He said he works on radars and something with missiles ( I wasn't paying close attention). He said he never saw combat and it was really a fun job. When they came to my history class last year, they told us that if we join the military it will basically be a beautiful vacation. As everyone smiled and awed at the idea, the recruiters talked about how they went skiing in Alaska, visited Italy, and swam at some of the finest beaches in the world. Hell, who wouldn't want to join the military after a speech like that. Even I liked the idea of this: visiting all parts of the globe without ever fring a gun. All day long everyone was talking about how cool and easy it would be to join the military. I wrote in because a few minutes ago I just got a call from a recruiter. I was scared when I answered the phone because the caller id showed up: "US GOVT." He told me that he was just contacting all seniors at John Burroughs High School, and that he would like to set up a meeting with me to discuss "job opportunities." I told him I was planning on going to college and majoring in political science, but was undecided on exactly what I would do with it. He insisted on setting up a meeting, so I was straightforward with him. I told him I was against war in general, and that I don't know how I would be able to operate in the military. He replied saying that I would be able to be in the reserves and then serve in an administrative position. He said I would never see combat. I told him that I didn't want to be dragged into anything and hung up. Hopefully there are less recruiters at my school in my senior year, as teachers are also getting fed up with it. I talk about politics with my Physics teacher and he tells me that the recruiters bring donuts to teachers meetings and talk to them about opportunities in the military, i guess in hopes that the teacher will tell the students about it. Anwyway, just thought I'd give my two cents.
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